


Something In The Silence

by just_another_outcast



Category: Kingsman (Movies), MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016) Whump, Crossover, Eggsy Unwin Whump, Gen, Harry Hart as Arthur, Hurt Angus Macgyver (Macgyver 2016), Hurt Eggsy Unwin, Hurt/Comfort, Kingsman Family, Mac Whump, Merlin (Kingsman) Lives, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Harry Hart, Protective Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016), Roxy Morton | Lancelot Lives, Suspense, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-01-31 18:37:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18597115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_another_outcast/pseuds/just_another_outcast
Summary: A shared op and bad intel cause Kingsman and the Phoenix Foundation to collide, getting both Mac and Eggsy taken by chemical weapons dealers who are more than a little pissed at them for destroying their arsenal. While they discover that they're more similar than they think, Jack and Harry are forced to work together to save their kids.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, the first chapter of the Kingsman crossover that I've wanted to write for like a year and a half. This first chapter is super short and rough, but if you've read my stuff before, then you should know that my first chapters are always bad, and the rest are better. That's just how it is I guess lol. So I promise, it's going to get way better once the actual plot gets underway.
> 
> IMPORTANT: A few notes on what I've changed up for Kingsman and MacGyver canon. For MacGyver, the only thing I've changed is that Jack doesn't leave. That being said, I may still find a way to bring Desi in. That's not set in stone yet. Kingsman has more major changes. V Day and all the drug stuff still happened, but they left Phoenix basically unaffected. Merlin and Roxy are both alive and well, as well as Percival because why tf not, and Harry is the new Arthur, but he still enjoys going out on missions. All the other Kingsman are gone like in canon, so Harry and Merlin picked new recruits from recently discharged or retired military or special forces. They couldn't pick a bunch of kids to make up the agency, because just having Roxy and Eggsy is rough sometimes because they're a handful. Also, Tilde doesn't exist. That's about it when it comes to Kingsman canon changes. If I change anything else, I'll let y'all know.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!

Mac shook his head in annoyance. Once again, things were not going according to plan. Honestly, it was more surprising when they did. But of course, their intel was wrong, and the deal was going down that night, not the next day, and there were about five times more chemical weapons than there were supposed to be.

"Alright, what's the plan here, Mac?" Jack asked, his usual confidence in Mac clear in his voice. Mac always came up with the plan in situations like this, so of course Jack expected him to have a plan now too. And he would, the wheels were spinning in his head as he looked all around the warehouse. They were surrounded by chemical weapons. He could easily make some bombs. That would do the trick.

"Two explosions," Mac said with a smile. "A small one over there to distract them, and get them away from the much larger explosion that's going to happen here. They may be dirtbags, but I don't want to kill them if I don't have to." Mac glanced over at Jack and couldn't help but blush at the proud smile on his partner's face. "Hey, Riles, can you let me know when all these guys are sufficiently distracted?" he asked into his comms. Riley was in the van, observing through the security cameras she'd hacked into. Both Bozer and Leanna were at the secondary location, getting a hold on the leader of this terrorist group. As of the moment, it was a small group, but their planned attack would give them international attention. Bozer and Leanna were on the neighboring island, rounding up as many of the group as they could. The attack on Jakarta couldn't take place if all the terrorists had already been captured, but getting rid of the chemical weapons was just as important of a target. If these dealers couldn't sell to terrorists there in Indonesia, they would just sell them to someone else. It was illegal no matter what.

"Sure thing, Mac," Riley replied. "Bozer and Leanna just checked in. They've got almost the whole group in custody." Mac smiled as he began mixing some chemicals together. So yeah, things weren't going according to plan, but they were still going well. "Wait, guys, I'm picking up some chatter. I can't find their frequency, but I think you're gonna have some company," Riley said.

"I hate company," Jack muttered, checking his gun, even though Mac knew it was fully loaded, as always.

"I don't see them on the cameras yet, and I still can't find their frequency. That means they've probably got someone like me hiding them," Riley continued with a sigh. Mac could practically see her rolling her eyes. "Just give me another minute, I think I can get in at least enough to figure out where our uninvited guests are."

"Jack, you start looking, then get out when I tell you. These are gonna go boom pretty fast, and I don't want anyone caught in the blast," Mac said, barely taking his eyes off the chemicals in front of him, even though he could practically make bombs in his sleep. "I know the way out, and I'll be getting there as soon as these are set. I don't have time to make a remote detonator, so I'll have to rely on the rate that these chemicals mix together..." he trailed off when he realized that Jack had stopped paying attention to his scientific jargon. Oh well. He knew what he was doing.

"You sure you're good to go, hoss? You know I hate leavin' you," Jack said. He sounded joking, but Mac knew he was being serious.

"Yeah, Jack, it's a bomb, I know what I'm doing," Mac replied with a smile. Jack shook his head, but ran off in search of whoever had dropped in on the meet. They didn't want anyone getting killed. Riley would let them know as soon as she got them on the cameras, but it didn't hurt to take a quick look themselves first.

Soon enough, the bombs were finished, and Mac was on his way to set them. "Alright, the first bomb should be going off in just a few seconds if my calculations are right, so Riley, let me know when to go set off the other one." Sure enough, the first bomb exploded the moment Mac finished. He heard some shouts, but no pained screams. That was good.

"Okay, Mac," Riley said. "They're all running. You're good to destroy the weapons. And Jack, I got one of the cameras back, and there's some old guy in a suit heading your way? He doesn't look like a terrorist or a dealer. He's got an umbrella with him too? I don't have their frequency yet, but I'm getting cameras back one by one. Someone like me was cloaking them."

"Ooookay, I'll go meet the weather conscious businessman," Jack said. Mac tuned the rest out as he carefully set the other, much larger bomb down in the middle of the warehouse, where the blast radius would be maximized to take out all of the chemical weapons. Luckily, the weapons there were dealing with could be safely disposed that way. If blowing them up would cause dangerous chemicals to go airborne, then Mac didn't know what they would do. Maybe luck really was on their side for once.

"The bomb is set, and will go off any minute. I'm heading out," Mac said, turning on his heel and heading for the closest door. "Jack, if you haven't found the guy yet, just get out."

"I'm followin' him, he's tailin' the terrorists," Jack whispered. Good. As long as that meant that both Jack and the other guy weren't in danger of the blast. Mac burst through the door and started running for the van, which was a safe distance away.

"Wait, there's someone else there!" Riley shouted into the comms. "I've got all the cameras back, and there's another guy in a suit and he's still in the blast zone and not moving."

Without replying, Mac turned around and ran back into the building. He knew he had only seconds to find the guy and drag him out, but he had years to listen to Jack complaining about him always running in head first to save the bad guys. The thought made Mac smile as he ignored Riley yelling at him through the comms. He needed to find the guy and get out.

Just as Mac began to think that he had signed his own death warrant, he spotted him. There was a young man about Mac's age, in a beautiful blue, pinstripe suit. Since they seemed to be the only people there, Mac didn't care about the element of surprise.

"Get out!" he shouted. "There's a bomb!" The young man turned and his eyes widened in surprise, but whether it from seeing Mac or hearing his words, Mac didn't know.

"You planted a bomb, bruv?" the man asked in a thick cockney accent. That took Mac by surprise.

"Mac, just go!" Riley shouted in his ear. "You're gonna have more company soon if you're not dead by then!"

Shaking his head, Mac dashed back out the door, but heard the British guy following him. "You didn't say the company was coming this way!" he shouted back at Riley. A bunch of the weapons dealers' goons were coming straight at them, blocking the way to the van. At least they didn't seem to see it. Mac didn't pay attention to Riley's reply, because the British guy was pulling out an umbrella and yanking Mac behind it. Despite Mac's surprise, that turned out to be a good thing, because they were soon being riddled with bullets - at least, they would have been if the umbrella hadn't been bulletproof. Who was this guy?

But they weren't far enough away from the blast. When the building exploded, the blast pushed Mac and the Brit to the ground. In the back of his mind, Mac knew both Riley and Jack were calling out to him, but the wind was knocked out of him, and all he could consciously think about was breathing. Once he had that under control, he glanced over at the men who had been firing at them, and saw that they were much less out of commission than he'd hoped. They were circling Mac and the Brit, who was slowly making his way to his knees, like Mac. They were definitely in trouble. With an internal groan and a shudder, Mac discreetly pulled his comm out and swallowed it. The less these people found out about him, the better. Maybe he could pretend to be a lost tourist - but in the back of his mind, he knew that wouldn't work, because no American vacationed in that part of Indonesia.

The men practically pounced on Mac and the Brit, quickly dragging them to their feet and roughly frisking them. They took Mac's SAK, and a curious array of weapons and doodads from the Brit, like a lighter, a pen, and of course a pistol. Mac just got even more confused.

"I used to get paid for guys to rough me up, and I didn't fancy it then, so I'd much appreciate it if you'd piss off a bit, yeah?" the Brit said with a grin, earning him a swift punch to the gut. He doubled over for a fraction of a second, then let out of a soft laugh. Everything this guy did confused Mac even more.

Mac remained silent as the two of them were ziptied and roughly marched over to an array of trucks. The Brit was looking around as if he were expecting to see someone, and Mac could've sworn that he saw a bit of panic in the young man's hazel eyes for a fraction of a second. But that looked was quickly schooled into one of nonchalance. Mac tried to calm himself down as well. Everything was going to be fine.

But then an arm was around his neck, and squeezing, and Mac couldn't do anything about it with his hands ziptied behind him. The Brit was in the same situation, and try as Mac might, he couldn't get free, and he couldn't breathe, and everything was going dark, and where was Jack, Jack was always there to save him, where was Jack, everything was not okay, where was Jack, where was Jack, where was Jack...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long delay. I've had a super busy past couple of weeks, and to top it all off, I got sick too! But now I hope to be able to keep a regular uploading schedule. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

They should've left the moment they knew the op was blown. Instead, Harry had stupidly let Eggsy convince him to keep going, despite knowing that there was some other intelligence agency there too, and an agency that they didn't know, nonetheless. It wasn't Statesman, and they definitely weren't CIA or FBI or any of those alphabet agencies, but they were definitely American, Merlin had been able to figure out that much. They had someone working for them who was as good with tech as Merlin was, and it was quite humorous to listen to the Scot grumble and swear as his encryptions were broken. It was a special kind of joy to see Merlin find out that he can in fact be beaten sometimes.

But this was just getting ridiculous. Harry was trying to avoid one of the Americans while getting back to Merlin at the same time, who was waiting on their jet. He'd given up on getting the terrorists and the dealers for now. It wasn't going to happen without Eggsy, and getting the boy back was at the very top of Harry's priority list, above anything else, no matter what. Besides, Roxy was supposed to be dealing with the rest of the terrorist group with Percival at the secondary location, and he'd only heard good things about that so far, so hopefully that part of the mission would be completed. It was his own fault if it wasn't. As Arthur, he was at the top of the agency, so he would take the blame for a failed mission, especially one that he was an active part of.

"Merlin, are Eggsy's glasses still transmitting?" he asked, hoping the man would say yes. If they were, even for just a little while longer, it could give them a major advantage when it came to getting him back.

"Sort of? They seem to have been damaged a bit, since now all I'm receiving is visual, not even audio or tracking, but I can't really see anythin'," Merlin replied. "It looks like he's in the back of some kind of truck, along with the American boy and a few of the dealers, but that's all I see. His vital readings are still strong, but he is definitely unconscious at the moment. The American appears to be too. I'm running him through our facial rec softwares, and all I'm getting is some kid named Angus MacGyver who works at a think tank in Los Angeles, the Phoenix Foundation, but that doesn't make much sense, now, does it? He graduated high school when he was barely sixteen, then spent two years at MIT before dropping out and joining the army, where he was an EOD tech. He was honorably discharged three years later."

Harry let out a sigh - well, really, it was a small exhale of breath, but that was as close to a sigh as Harry ever gave. "Keep searching, please. There must be something that can tell us who these Americans are."

"I think you'll get the chance to ask them yourself," Merlin quickly replied. "One of them is just about to round the corner to you."

"I suppose I will." Harry stood up straighter, straightened his tie, and rested the tip of his umbrella against the ground, looking every bit like the gentleman he was trained to be.

"Don't move!" the American shouted, his eyes blazing with a mix of rage and concern. "I'm a federal agent, and you're comin' with me," he said, slowly walking closer and closer.

"I suggest you leave those manacles where they are, attached to your tactical vest, otherwise I will not be going with you at all, I'm afraid," Harry replied calmly. The American's eyes widen slightly, but Harry beat him to responding. "Now I am perfectly willing to go with you willingly as of right now, because I myself have just as many questions for you as I'm sure you do for me, so something of a tête-à-tête could be quite beneficial for us both, don't you agree?" He gave the American his most disarming smile and began to slowly walk towards him, umbrella in hand. "I'm as much of a fan of guns as any cliche American, but yours really won't be necessary, so you might as well put it away so we can sooner get down to brass tax and discuss what our next step is going to be in retrieving our missing agents, yes?"

The American stared at him in awed confusion for a moment before finally replying, "you're lucky that the only thing I care about is gettin' my kid back, and shootin' your cocky ass just for the hell of it won't do that, so it really is your lucky day. Now move." He didn't put his gun down, but he did seem a bit more relaxed as Harry carefully walked in front of him, putting up no resistance at all, and using his umbrella as a walking stick.

"This man is Jack Dalton," Merlin said in his ear. "He's ex-army Delta, was MacGyver's EOD Overwatch in Afghanistan, spent time in the CIA, and now also apparently works for that same think tank in LA."

"So tell me," Harry started as he walked along at a gentle pace next to the American - Dalton, if that really was his name. "This Phoenix Foundation you work for, it can't really be just a think tank. Covert spy operation? Like Statesman?" he asked. If the Phoenix Foundation was an off the books spy organization, then perhaps they knew what Statesman really did, since they were basically the same thing.

Dalton abruptly turned and pushed Harry against the wall, his gun pressed up against Harry's chin. "I love me a good Kentucky bourbon, but I don't know what any o' that has to do with you knowing you we are," Dalton growled in his ear.

"I know you Americans are all rather brash, but I promise that I mean you no harm," Harry said, speaking as calmly as he ever did. "I actually wish to help you, since we both seem to have misplaced an agent, and I'm sure you want yours back as badly as I do, so if you'll kindly let me go, we can continue on and find out how to retrieve our missing boys."

Slowly, Dalton began to back down, slowly releasing his hold on Harry's collar and letting his gun fall. "Who are you, and what agency do you work for?" the man asked.

"My name is Harry Hart, and I am a Kingsman agent, based out of London but not affiliated with any government. We are an independent spy organization. Our cover is a tailor shop, but I assure you, we are just as well funded as your Phoenix Foundation, if not even more so," Harry replied with a small smile. He did so love the looks on people's faces when they found out what Kingsman really was.

"Riley, can you check that out please?" Dalton said, putting a finger up to his ear. Whoever he was talking to was probably their version of Merlin, but Harry doubted that anyone could truly be as good as the Scot.

"I'm afraid you'll just have to trust me," Harry said. "Our organization is covert enough that no one-"

"Thanks, Riles," Dalton said, cutting him off. "Yeah, she figured out pretty quickly that you're not a tailor shop." Dalton flashed a proud smile. "Somethin' about your financials and incoming signals and lots of gibberish that I won't even pretend to understand, but my girl knows, which is lucky for you, because that means your story checks out." Dalton slid his gun back into it's position in his thigh holster - what was with Americans and those? - and clapped Harry harshly on the back. "The name's Jack Dalton, but I'm basically the American James Bond, but with even better luck with the ladies." Dalton gave him a quick disarming smile, but it quickly faded back to a scowl, and started walking. Harry straightened his suit, then joined him. That was easy enough.

Harry and Dalton eventually made it out of the compound, and past all the bomb wreckage. Harry's glasses picked out the van in the woods before Harry himself even saw it. There was only one heat signature in it.

Dalton banged on the side of the van twice, then jumped in as soon as a young woman opened it. She certainly didn't dress anything like Roxy did, even when she wasn't on a mission, with her crop top and skinny jeans.

"Riles, meet Daniel Craig," Dalton gruffly said, gesturing to Harry. "Daniel Craig, meet Riley Davis, the best computer genius in the business." The young woman, Riley, rolled her eyes, but Harry could see her blush.

"Harry Hart, head of Kingsman, at your sevice, Miss Davis," Harry said with a slight bow.

"Wow," Riley said with a surprised frown and wide eyes. "Maybe Harry can teach you thing or two about being a gentleman, Jack." She smiled at the man, then playfully punched him in the arm, but Harry could tell that her heart wasn't in it. The smile didn't reach her eyes, which were filled with worry. "But you can call me Riley."

"What do you have on the guys who took Mac?" Dalton asked, ignoring the jab. His eyes were filled with a mix of both worry and rage. "Can you still track his comm?"

Riley sighed. "No, I think it got destroyed in the fight, and with all the chaos of everyone running from the bombs, I couldn't track which truck was the one that Mac and the guy in the suit were tossed in." She shook her head in obvious annoyance, then ran her hands through her tangled curls.

"That 'guy in the suit' is one of my best agents, and dearest friends," Harry said somberly. "In fact, he is something of a son to me, and I am willing to do anything in the world to get him back. I am sure you feel the same for your own agent?" Harry wouldn't normally ever say something so vulnerable to people he didn't know and trust - or even to people he did - but the way that Dalton had called his agent "his kid" earlier suggested that Dalton was as emotionally invested in getting his agent back as Harry was, and thus, making an emotional connection with him would likely make this Phoenix Foundation more cooperative with Kingsman. Yes, the fact that Merlin had to hear that rare admission was a shame, but Harry would do it time and time again if it helped him to get Eggsy back.

Dalton turned to him with fire in his eyes. "I would let the world burn for Mac. That kid means the whole damn universe to me, so if you Kingsman people can help me get him back, then that's damn well what you're gonna do," Dalton practically growled, every fiber of his being blazing with unrestrained emotion. Clearly this man wasn't nearly as closed off with his emotions on a daily basis as Harry was.

"All other objectives that must be completed pale in comparison when my agent is in such danger, so I propose the same thing," Harry said. "If you help me to get Eggsy back, then I will help you to retrieve your Mac." He extended his hand, and gave Dalton a grim smile when the man accepted it, and shook it tightly.

"You've got yourself a team," he said. Dalton looked to Riley with a smile. "We're gettin' him back."

"Harry, what have you just agreed to do?" Merlin asked in his ear. "I know you're Arthur but we don't know these people. How do you know that we can trust this Phoenix Foundation?"

Harry let out the smallest of sighs. "I'm afraid you must meet my overly cautious technological support," he said.

"Oh, Harry, I'm much more than tech support-"

"He can be quite obnoxious, but he's also quite useful, so Kingsman keeps him around," he interrupted Merlin with a smile.

"He must be good," Riley said. "His encryptions were a mess to get through. He certainly knows what he's doing." She gave an appreciative nod, and Harry was sure that Merlin just absolutely loved that.

"Well, he certainly thinks that," Harry admitted. "We have a jet waiting a short distance away if you would like to join us. We can regroup, you can contact your people, and we'll figure out how we're going to track down our boys."

"Seeing a super secret spy jet would be basically the coolest thing ever," Dalton muttered.

"Jack, we fly on a spy jet basically every day," Riley commented, but Dalton only muttered something about James Bond jets being cooler, and not the same thing.

This was certainly going to be one of the most interesting ops that Harry had ever worked.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I really wanted to get another chapter up before I leave for a long weekend up north. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

His head was pounding, and his wrists ached. With a small groan, Eggsy opened his eyes, thankful that the room was sparsely lit. Where was he? Eggsy slowly looked around, moving his head carefully - it was already pounding, and he really didn't want to make it worse. There was only one light in the room, and it was right next to the door, which had no handle, or even obvious hinges. The room itself was small, probably only three meters long and wide, and was completely bare, other than its occupants and the manacles that were chaining them to the walls. The other person in the room was the blond bloke that Eggsy had been captured with - he still didn't know what the guy had been doing there. He was still out, but looked to be about Eggsy's age, give or take a year or two, and seemed to be just as fit as Eggsy as well.

Eggsy tested the restraints, but they held fast. He sighed in annoyance, and shook his head. He wanted to test if his glasses were still transmitting to Merlin, but he didn't know if they were being watched. A quick glance around told him that there were no obvious cameras, but Eggsy knew better than most that that didn't mean there wasn't still surveillance. Still, he would need to talk to the American when he woke up. They'd probably just have to risk it and hope for the best. That was what Eggsy had been doing for most of his life anyway.

A groan from the American stole his attention. He seemed to be waking up.

"You alright there, bruv?" he asked lightly. Eggsy still didn't know who this bloke was, or even what side he was playing for, but something inside Eggsy just screamed at him that the blond was kind, and could be trusted. Something about his big blue eyes just screamed kindness and Eggsy couldn't put his finger on what. But if that meant that he had a friend in all this, maybe that would be a good thing.

He groaned again. "Yeah," he said. "I'm okay." Yes, he was definitely an American, but he didn't sound like a Statesman. He didn't have some thick southern accent, at least, Eggsy thought Americans just called them 'southern accents', even though the term was incredibly vast for such a large country where even saying 'south' could mean so many different things. Oh well. There were far too many American accents to keep track of anyway. Still, Eggsy shouldn't have even had to wonder who this guy was. His glasses should have informed him immediately with their built in facial recognition software, but his glasses weren't really doing much of anything, other than being glasses, which he didn't even need. That was obnoxious. They must have gotten damaged due to the blast, or during the transfer from the facility to wherever the hell he was now. That meant they probably weren't transmitting to Merlin either.

"Alright, now because it's only your fault that I'm in this bloody mess, I think it's only fair that you tell me who you are," Eggsy demanded, doing his best to look intimidating like Harry, but he knew he probably just looked annoyed.

"Excuse me?" the American said, looking at Eggsy like he had no earthly idea what he was talking about. Okay, maybe he should've given the bloke another few moments to wake up.

"The weapons dealers, the terrorists, the bomb in the warehouse that you informed me you planted yourself, any o' that ringin' a bell?" he asked instead. The blond was still looking around the tiny room they were in, and didn't seem to be paying much attention to what Eggsy was saying at all.

"I only blew them up to get rid of them..." the American muttered, and it wasn't very helpful. He still clearly had no interest in paying attention to Eggsy at all, since he was still squinting up at the light and tilting his head, testing his restraints, and overall not at all acting like he did when Eggsy rehearsed this conversation in his head.

"Look, I don't even care 'bout the bomb anymore, jus' tell me who the hell you are," Eggsy pleaded. This was getting ridiculous.

Finally, the American sighed and turned to look at Eggsy in annoyance - that kid was annoyed? Well, Eggsy could show him annoyed. Two could play at that game - and finally said, "My name is Angus MacGyver, I'm an American operative, probably doing the same thing as you. And for your information, I saved your life, so there's that too." He shook his head, then went right back to feeling his pockets and rolling his eyes when he found nothing in them.

Eggsy scoffed. "Well it hardly counts as savin' my life when it's from somethin' you did that almost woulda killed me in the first place."

"I risked my own life to go back and save you, and ended up getting taken by these nutjobs for it, so maybe you're right. Maybe I should've just left you for dead and let that bomb kill you." He stared at Eggsy for moment, then went back to looking around the small room.

Eggsy sat in silence for moment. The guy was kind of right.

"Angus, huh?" he remarked quietly, trying to make peace. "That's rough, bruv, but I get it, my name's Gary, Gary Unwin," he added before MacGyver could be offended. "That's why I go by Eggsy. It's not that it's much better, but it was a childhood nickname and it just kind of stuck, I guess. So that's my name." He nodded, then hesitantly made eye contact with Angus, hopeful for a reciprocation of some kind. If they were going to get out of there, it would be best if they got along.

"I had completely stopped going by Angus by the time my dad left, so, by the time I turned ten, I was going by Mac." He shrugged and gave a thin lipped smile, and Eggsy couldn't help but smile back. He could make a connection there.

"Bad luck in the dad department, eh? My dad died when I was very young, I don't even remember him, but my step dad was always a proper dick, tossin' me and my mum about, so I get it," Eggsy replied. He didn't want to say more than that if he didn't have to. The connection had hopefully been made, so he could just leave it at that. Eggsy didn't even want Harry to know what Dean had made him do to get money, much less this American spy.

"My mom died when I was five, and I thought my dad left when I was ten, but..." Mac trailed off, seemingly looking for the right words. But Eggsy didn't say anything, because clearly whatever Mac was trying to say, it was interesting. "Turned out he was just manipulating my whole life without me knowing about it, getting me to eventually work for him, and now that I figured it out and have seen him for the first time since I was nine, he's acting like nothing he ever did was wrong. He blamed me for his leaving, and he's acting like that doesn't even matter." Mac shook his head, then turned to the ground. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this," he muttered.

"Well clearly you needed to get it off your chest, and I can see why. Your dad is a proper dick too," he replied. This certainly wasn't what Eggsy had expected, but this connection between them would likely help them to work together better, and be able to escape, so Eggsy would take it.

"I guess, kind of," Mac responded with a noncommital shrug.

"Kind of?" Eggsy repeated. "What do you mean, 'kind of'? A man who abandons his child, controls their life from the shadows, blames them for what happened, then acts like he did nothin' wrong, is the exact definition of a dick," Eggsy blazed. Even though he didn't know this guy at all, he couldn't let him believe that his father was a real dad, or anything close to it. "If that's not a dick, I don't know what is."

"Good point," Mac muttered. He sighed, then took another quick look around. "What do you say we get out of here?" he asked with a smile.

"What? You've actually got a plan?" Eggsy would be very impressed if anyone had a plan to get out of their situation.

Mac's smile quickly fell when the door suddenly opened, and three very large men walked through. Eggsy kept his face passive. He'd been through stuff like this before, and he could do it again. It didn't matter whether or not Mac had before, because he was going to have to now. Besides, Harry was going to save them if they couldn't get out themselves. Harry always saved him.

"I'm sure you've heard this in all your Western movies time and time again," the lead man said. His accent was some kind of Indonesian, but his English was perfect. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I need to know who you are, and who you work for. I know you don't work together." The man looked between Eggsy and Mac, not keeping eye contact with either one of them for more than a second or two before switching glances. Two men stood behind him, silently, just keeping their arms crossed, like all the henchmen in any spy movie. That's all this was, after all. Ever since meeting Harry, Eggsy's life had become a neverending spy film, so he wasn't surprised anymore when the cliches followed him around. Besides, in all good spy movies, the good guys won in the end, and Eggsy liked to believe that he was the good guy.

"Speak," the man said firmly. Eggsy merely stared at him in silence instead. He would not give up Kingsman, and he doubted that Mac was willing to give up his agency either. Anyone who risks their own life to save someone they've never met is certainly strong, and loyal. Mac's agency was as safe as Kingsman with someone like Mac protecting them, maybe even more so.

The man sighed, then rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. "The hard way works for me too. You are the ones who will suffer extensively." He gave a small shrug, then turned on his heel. His men followed, then they all walked out of the room. The door closed with a bang behind them, so loudly that Eggsy couldn't help but flinch.

He turned to Mac, hope in his eyes. "Now, about that plan..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait. My mom got shoulder surgery so I've been spending a lot of time helping her out, and for some reason, this chapter was particularly difficult to write. If you haven't seen the Kingsman movies, I highly recommend them in order to understand a lot of this lol. If you haven't seen them, PM me and I can send you a link ;) also, I saw the new Aladdin movie and I absolutely adore it, so you can probably expect some Aladdin fic soon too lol. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Trying to act like everything was okay was just for Riley's sake. She needed him to be strong for them both, so that was exactly what he was going to do. Sadly, Jack had a lot of practice when it came to trying to act calm when Mac was in danger. It wasn't as bad as that time that the kid got taken by Murdoc, which was good at least. Jack had been a complete wreck then. But as terrible as some chemical weapons dealers were, they weren't as bad as Murdoc. They couldn't be. Nothing and no one could ever be as bad as Murdoc. That psychopath and his strange, lusty obsession with Mac was by far the worst situation that the kid could find himself in. This was different. It was just run of the mill bad guys. Of course, Jack knew that Mac would likely still be injured when Jack got him back - even run of the mill bad guys seemed to love to torture that kid - but it wouldn't be like what Jack always dreaded with Murdoc. Chemical weapons dealers didn't stare at Mac with a mixture of fascination and lust like Murdoc, so at least Mac would be safe from Jack's worst nightmare.

Still, the kid was gonna be hurt. Jack knew that like he knew the Cowboys' defensive line. And that did terrify him, and it was so hard to act like he wasn't nearly as concerned as he was. But he had to stay strong for Riley. She was a remarkably strong girl, but even the strongest people can freak out when their little brothers have been captured by chemical weapons dealers. Besides, Jack had to keep up a cool facade in front of this British guy too. Harry Hart and Kingsman, whatever they were, were certainly cool. That was undeniable. Jack needed to be strong in front of them too. He was a former Delta soldier, and he was one of the most competent agents in all of the intelligence field. Missing kid or not, Jack was as strong as an agent could be, and he would show these Brits that if they even tried to stand between him and getting his kid back, there would be hell to pay.

He didn't think they would have any problems working together, since Harry did seem to be pretty insistent on getting his own agent back too, going so far as to call this Eggsy like a son to him. This wasn't just two agents trying to get their partners back, this was two fathers trying to rescue their sons, two families trying to become whole again. No, Jack didn't think they would have any problems working together, with such a common goal.

"You and this Eggsy kid are pretty close, huh?" Jack asked. Harry had already said that they were, but Jack needed to know the details. When something involved Mac, Jack always needed to know.

"Yes, I owe him a great deal," Harry calmly replied. "But I have already explained that, and since it can be quite dangerous for a spy to become the emotional sort, I do not wish to explain it again. Just know that I would die for Eggsy, and I would kill for him too." Harry held up a hand to stop Jack and Riley in their tracks. "The jet is just over there," he continued without missing a beat. Harry led them around a few more trees in the jungle, where the jet came into view. It didn't look any different from the standard Phoenix jets, at least on the outside. From the looks of things, Kingsman was all about things being different than they first appeared. Jack couldn't help but smile. That's something that Mac would love. The kid was all about the hidden capabilities of literally everything.

"See, Jack?" Riley said. "I told you it wouldn't be any different from the Phoenix jets."

Jack just gave her a look. He wasn't so sure. Still, no matter what the jet truly held, they would be able to get a better feel for Kingsman, and give Matty a full update. Oversight might even want an update on this one, since they would be working with an agency previously unknown to them. As much as Jack hated the idea of talking to James, it would probably be a necessary evil.

"Merlin," Harry greeted the moment the three of them stepped up into the jet. In front of several computers sat a bald man with glasses similar to Harry's. He was just as well dressed, which Jack found slightly annoying. Did Kingsman not know how to relax their wardrobe? A full suit just wasn't always necessary. But he had to admit, the suits did add to the whole James Bond aesthetic, and maybe that's what they were going for. "I think it's time for a much more proper introduction. These are agents Jack Dalton and Riley Davis from the Phoenix Foundation," Harry said, gesturing to Jack and Riley in turn. "This is Kingsman's top tech, Merlin."

"Does Merlin have a last name?" Jack asked, arms crossed. "You don't look like a medieval wizard to me."

"Merlin is simply my codename," the man replied in a Scottish accent. "However, I like it more than my given name, so that is what I choose to go by, at least with all the other Kingsman."

"So what's your real name?" Riley asked with a smile.

"That's need to know, and you don't," Merlin replied, pointing towards the two of them.

Jack let out the smallest of laughs and shook his head. At first he had thought that maybe this guy was like Mac, since both didn't like their names, but apparently not. This Merlin was just snobby and pompous - at least, that's how he seemed to Jack at the moment.

"Whatever," Jack muttered. "We don't have time for this anyway, we need to get Mac back." They could stand around and talk about Merlin's stupid name later. Getting Mac back was more important - more important than anything. "I need to brief Matty. You probably have a supervisor to brief too," he said, addressing Harry.

"Actually, I am the head of the Kingsman," Harry responded. "I don't normally go out on operations much anymore, but Eggsy asked me to join him this time, so I acquiesced. Now I wish I hadn't, because maybe then he wouldn't have been taken by those arms dealers," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Ya can't blame yourself, Harry. What happened would've happened whether or not you were here," Merlin said. He glanced at Jack, then muttered, "it's really the blond's fault."

Jack barely heard Riley's sharp intake of breath. One moment seemed to stretch into infinity, and all Jack could see was red. How dare that man blame Mac for what happened. It wasn't his fault. Really, it was the other kid's fault, because Mac only went back to save that kid. But Jack would never deal a blow so low like that, especially not to a worried father who's lost their child. He raced forward before Riley could respond, and before Harry could stop him. Merlin's collar was in his grasp and he was shoving the man against the side of the jet before Jack really knew what was going on.

"That is my kid you're talkin' about," Jack seethed. "And none of this is on that boy. He was trying to save your agent, and yes, they both got caught, but it was not Mac's fault. So you're gonna stop blaming my kid for this right now, or my boot is gonna get introduced to your ass." The whole time, he didn't break eye contact with Merlin. Jack stared daggers into his eyes the whole time, and to Merlin's credit, the man didn't look the least bit phased.

"Well he's certainly more intense than you, but Agent Dalton here isn't so different from you, Harry," Merlin replied, completely ignoring what Jack had said. "Now calm down, and let me do my job so we can both get our agents back." So far, Merlin hadn't resisted at all, but now, he quickly slammed one palm into Jack's forehead, and circled his other arm under Jack's forcing his hands off his collar. Jack stumbled back, a glare still on his face, but Merlin simply straightened his clothes, and returned to his various computers.

"Coordinate, do computer stuff, find Mac," Jack muttered to Riley, pointing in Merlin's direction. They were both the tech gurus, so they could handle whatever computer stuff could be done to get Mac back. He ignored the wide eyes that Riley gave him, and the small smile on Harry's face. "I'm gonna call Matty. She's probably pissed enough already." He stalked away, only paying enough attention to the others to see that Riley did indeed walk over towards Merlin and all his gadgets. Jack pulled out his sat phone and dialed the all too familiar number of Matty's phone.

"Took you long enough, Dalton," Matty quickly said, answering on the first ring. "Why haven't you checked in with me or exfil?"

Jack sighed. "The op went to hell, Matty. We ran into another off the books agency and things got complicated. Mac and one of the agents from the other agency got taken by the chemical weapons people. We're tryin' to pool our intel and work together to get them back." Jack was absolutely not in the mood to deal with Matty's scathing remarks, however said with love. Hopefully, she could pick up on his tone that it was time to be serious.

He could hear a sharp intake of breath from across the line. "What's the other agency? I might still have some pull," Matty replied.

"I don't think you will, actually," Jack hesitantly responded. "They seem even more secret than Phoenix. They're called Kingsman, and they're based out of London, but independently run. They're not sanctioned by the British government, or any government, actually..." he trailed off. Even Phoenix had to operate with permission from the American government. Kingsman didn't have to obey anyone.

"They're a vigilante agency?" Matty asked in disbelief. "I'd heard rumors about something like that in Kentucky, with the cover of the Statesman Liquor Company, but nothing confirmed. Maybe this is similar." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Okay, Dalton, you're running point on this, I trust you to get Mac back. In the meantime, I'm gonna find out everything I can on Kingsman, and try to get in contact with their director. I'll have to brief Oversight too. An agency like Kingsman is definitely something that he would want to know about. Who knows, maybe he already does. I trust you'll keep me updated?"

"Of course, but their director is here. He came on the op because he felt like it," Jack replied. Maybe having Harry with him would be an advantage, since all Matty had to do to contact the head of Kingsman was contact Jack.

"Even better," Matty said, even though it didn't sound like she really thought that was all that much better. "Keep me updated," she repeated, then hung up.

Jack sighed, but at least that conversation hadn't gone as horribly as it could have. Now it was time to get back to work. He would get his kid back, or die trying.

...

Riley knew that Jack was only joking around for her benefit, to try to calm her. She appreciated it, but she wasn't surprised when he snapped on Merlin. Jack was under a lot of stress, similar to when Murdoc had kidnapped Mac from his home. This was a bit different, since what the bad guys here would do to Mac was likely significantly different from what that psychopath wanted to do to him, but still. Jack was freaking out on the inside, and he couldn't hide it from Riley, try as he might. She saw right through it. Still, she would give him some space to call Matty, and talk to Merlin like he had asked.

"You've got a pretty nice setup here," she remarked to the man, crossing her arms over her chest. Merlin had an array of monitors, and even multiple keyboards, along with plenty of other gadgets that Riley had never seen before.

"I assume you do as well. You got through my firewalls and onto my network much faster than anyone should've been able to," Merlin replied, a hint of grudging respect in his voice.

"Well, my rig might not be as advanced as what you guys have, but it gets the job done every time," she responded with a smile. Her rig had gotten her and her team through a lot, and it was enough for her.

"Kingsman is equipped with all of the latest technologies, but most of those come from our own engineers. We are worlds ahead of companies like Apple," Merlin said, clearly proud. "The technologies we have likely won't even be visible for the rest of the world for another decade."

Despite his smug tone, Riley couldn't help but be interested. From the looks of the gadgets they had, Merlin wasn't kidding. They were definitely technologically superior, and Riley wanted in on that.

"Tell me what all of these are, and how they work," she demanded. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Harry's smile growing. Merlin looked at her with hesitation. "Look, your agent is missing too. In order for me to be the best help possible in getting him and Mac back, I'm gonna need to know everything about all the tech that Kingsman has. So tell me, and don't spare the details." She finished with her most charming smile, and leaned forward.

"I would do as the young lady requests, Merlin," Harry added. "She does seem to be quite like our dear Roxy in the fact that she knows what she wants, and she is determined to get it."

Merlin sighed. "Fine, fine, alright." He looked around the jet, then picked up the lighter that was sitting by the keyboard. "This isn't a lighter, it's actually a bomb, so don't flick it..."

He went on to explain all the gadgets Kingsman had to offer, and how they worked. Even Jack became interested when it came to the bulletproof umbrellas and poison pens. It was all very cool stuff, but in the back of Riley's mind, all she could think was how much Mac would love it all, especially learning how it all worked. Riley would have to insist that Merlin showed all of this to him too, once they got him back. Because they were going to get him back. They had to, because Riley didn't know what she would do if they didn't.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that there's literally no updating schedule for this lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!! Also, the warnings have been updated, just so you know.

"In order for this to work, you're gonna have to be flexible," Mac said with a hesitant smile. And he didn't mean flexible mentally, but physically.

After a moment, it looked like Eggsy understood what he was trying to say. "You mean, like, stretching?" he asked, clearly confused. Mac nodded, a thin lipped smile on his face. "Well you're in luck, because I was Olympic level material in gymnastics for years," Eggsy replied with a cocky smile. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need your glasses," Mac said. If he could get his hands on them, he could break them, and then hopefully use them to pick the lock on the bar connecting the cuffs to the wall.

"It's a good thing that they don't seem to be transmittin' anymore," Eggsy replied, shaking his head. "I'll see what I can do in this suit." In a move that was very much befitting for someone who was Olympic gymnastics material, Eggsy leaned as far forward as his restrained arms would allow him to, and pulled his knees up to his head. He lightly put pressure on his glasses, then shook his head around until he had his glasses gripped between his knees. Eggsy let them fall to the ground, then kicked them over to Mac. "I hope you're flexible enough to pick them up," Eggsy said with a smile, and he was completely right. This was going to be a challenge, especially because he had to do it rather quickly. He doubted that those men would be gone long, and Mac wanted to be out of there before they came back.

"So, uh, why didn't you go to the Olympics, then?" Mac asked as he tried to figure out how he was going to reach the glasses. "England could've used your talent. They definitely needed it," he added with a small laugh, just to get a rise out of the Brit. It worked. Eggsy rolled his eyes, but he was smiling too. But then he sighed.

"It was because of my step dad, actually," he said quietly, not quite meeting Mac's eye. "He started pushing me and my mum around a bit more, and I just couldn't do it. I couldn't move without, well, without a lot of pain sometimes, so I just quit. I didn't want to tell them what was really goin' on, because if anyone found out what Dean was doin', he woulda killed my mum, and I just couldn't risk that." Eggsy shrugged his shoulders and gave a thin lipped smile, as if having such an abusive father was just a part of life. But then again, maybe Mac shouldn't be the one to judge on coping mechanisms when it came to messed up relationships with fathers. His own relationship with his dad had never really been healthy, and it still wasn't exactly, even though he tried to say it was fine.

"That's a fair reason," Mac mumbled. He felt awkward now. Eggsy shouldn't have had to say that. But he didn't have time to dwell on it. He needed to get them out of there. As carefully as he could, Mac pulled the glasses closer to him with his foot, then tried to pick them up with his knees like Eggsy had. It took him a few tries, but he eventually got it. "I'm sorry for this," he said, then snapped the glasses between his knees. Mac took a quick glance up at Eggsy, who was pouting a little bit. "I promise I needed to," he muttered. He felt like he had to explain himself a little bit. Jack would've just gone with it no matter what, but Mac didn't really know Eggsy, even though it seemed like they had a lot in common. Still, Mac got to work with the broken half of the glasses. He reached his head down and his legs up enough to grab onto the earpiece with his teeth, and kept a firm grip on the other half with his knees. Holding the glasses steady, Mac turned his head to the side until the glasses broke again, and he was left with just the earpiece between his teeth. He turned his head up, and contorted his hand as much as the cuff would allow in order to reach it. Finally, he had it in his hand. From that angle, picking the lock was complicated, but Mac had gotten himself out of worse situations, and soon enough, he was free of the cuffs.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Eggsy said, a bit dumbstruck. Mac just smiled broadly and went over to pick his cuffs too. He heard stuff like that all the time. The two of them were both free within the minute, but free of the cuffs did not mean free of the room. Mac took another look at the door. Just as it had the first fifty times he looked at it, the door had no obvious way to get it open. But that hadn't stopped Mac in the past, and he would not let it stop him this time. It was partially his fault that they were in this mess in the first place, so he needed to do everything possible to get them out. "Got any bright ideas on how we're gonna get past this door?" Eggsy asked, voicing Mac's own thoughts.

Mac just stood there with a frown before answering. "I'm sure I'll think of something." He looked up at the single light. It didn't look very useful for getting past a massive door. Mac stepped a little closer to the edge. The door was very thick, with hinges that were sunken into the walls, making them impossible to get at. This could be a bit trickier than a lot of his escapes in the past had been.

"We could just surprise them when they come back in," Eggsy suggested with a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean, I've taken down a lotta guys by myself before, I'm sure I could do it again." Mac glanced at him. He looked optimistic, but that plan wasn't a very good one. Sadly, it could be the only option they had. There was just nothing for Mac to work with. He couldn't pick a lock that wasn't there, and Eggsy had already gone through his pockets and found them all empty. They had nothing but the clothes on their backs.

"That's a terrible plan..." Mac muttered, wracking his brain for another idea. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. There was just nothing he could use. Absolutely nothing.

"What other choice do we have, bruv?" Eggsy asked. "Clearly you ain't got no other idea."

Mac turned to him with a slight glare, but he was kind of right. With nothing to work with, there was really nothing else they could do. Besides, Eggsy was as physically fit as Mac was, and, being a spy, could probably handle himself in a fight rather well. He sighed, but nodded. Besides, the bad guys were probably going to be back soon anyway.

"You better be as good of a fighter as you think you are," Mac said. "We're only gonna get one shot at this."

"You just worry about yourself, bruv, I've been handlin' my own in fistfights since I was ten," Eggsy replied, a smug smile on his face. Mac shook his head. He just hoped that was the truth.

But he didn't have much time to worry, because he could hear voices coming down the hall. That had to be the bad guys.

"Get ready," Mac whispered, motioning for Eggsy to hide right by the door with him, so they could jump the men who opened it the moment the door was opened. It would open away from the room, which would be an aid to them. Mac took a deep breath and stretched and shook out his fingers and wrists. He was ready. He could do this, and he also couldn't stop the smile from creeping onto his face. This was a plan Jack would think up. Mac shook his head. He needed to focus, not think about Jack's face if Mac were to tell him this brilliant plan.

The door opened, and everything was a blur. Mac and Eggsy launched themselves at the men, making quick work of the first two with blows to the head and knocking them into each other. There were four more guys, each reaching for their weapons. But Mac and Eggsy were just as quick to knock the weapons out of their hands and onto the floor, working in tandem to take down the surprised weapons dealers. The element of surprise had clearly worked, since it was only thirty seconds since the door opened, and now the two of them were standing, panting heavily, over six unconscious bodies.

"I can't believe that worked," Mac said breathlessly, with a slight smile. He looked over at Eggsy, but the Brit was staring at what the men had been bringing with them. They had been dragging a cart, and on that cart was a cattle prod, various knives, a baseball bat, a thin towel, and a massive jug of water. Mac gulped down his fear at seeing what they would have been tortured with, and turned back to Eggsy. "We need to get out of here, now," he said. Mac grabbed one of the knives on the table, while Eggsy stole two of the guns from the downed men, shoving one into his waistband and carrying the other.

"They've got these great guns and you're grabbin' a knife?" he asked Mac in clear disbelief, staring between the knife, his gun, and Mac.

Mac cringed a bit. "Yeah, I just really prefer less lethal options when at all possible," he said. "Now come on," he continued, starting to jog down the hall. He turned back towards Eggsy, who shook his head, but followed. They stuck right next to the walls, peeking around corners before turning down the next hallway. So far, there hadn't been any guards they couldn't avoid, but the hallways were weirdly set, with the doorways always having low clearance, like what was found on an American aircraft carrier. Why did a compound have that? Mac pushed away his thoughts and just focused on getting out of there. He needed to get back to his team. Jack was surely going crazy with worry, and Mac needed to get back to him before he truly had a reason to worry.

An alarm sounding made both Mac and Eggsy flinch, but they didn't stop in their tracks. They didn't have time to stop and worry. The bad guys were onto them, and they needed to get out of there.

"Where's the freaking doors?" Eggsy frantically asked as they ran down the corridors. Even a bad guy lair should have exit signs, but so far, they hadn't found a single one, and it was getting concerning.

"I don't know, just keep running!" Mac replied. They barreled around one corner, only to see big men with big guns running towards them. Mac grabbed Eggsy's arm and pulled them both around, but there were men running towards them from behind too. "Up, let's go!" Mac shouted to be heard above the alarm. He and Eggsy ran up the nearby staircase, which was almost a ladder it was so steep.

After running around another few corridors, with men chasing them, they finally spotted something good. "Sunlight," Eggsy breathed out. "Come on," he said, grabbing Mac's arm and making a break towards the door that had a window on it, a window that sunlight was streaming through.

They burst through the door, but Mac almost collapsed in defeat when he saw what was on the other side. It wasn't more men with guns. It was worse. It was endless miles of open water. It was the ocean. They were on a boat in the middle of nowhere. The boat must have been so massive that they couldn't feel the waves.

But before Mac could panic, Eggsy was pulling him down the deck. Mac followed as quickly as he could, running down the long deck, towards the bow. They needed to find the lifeboats and get off the ship before they were killed.

They made it to a more open part of the deck, but there were men right behind them, and coming up in front of them too. There was nowhere to go.

"I hope you're ready, bruv," Eggsy muttered under his breath. He held up the assault rifle that he stole from one of the men, and opened fire. "Take the other gun!" he shouted at Mac, but he couldn't do it. Mac couldn't take that gun, he just couldn't. He had the meat cleaver that he took from the torture cart, and that was going to be good enough, it had to be. Mac slashed at anyone who got too close, but let Eggsy shoot them. If the Brit could sleep at night doing that, that was fine with him. It wasn't different from anything Jack ever did. But Mac couldn't, he just couldn't do it. That wasn't to say he couldn't kill, because he had killed before, and he would again, but only as a very last resort in defense of his own life or someone else's. Hopefully, he could still get out of this without having to take a life.

A man ran up from the side, just out of Mac's peripheral vision, and tackled him to the ground. Shots were still ringing out above him, so Eggsy was still holding his own, despite their minimal cover of a few large crates. Mac tussled with the man who had tackled him, trying to keep the man's hands from finding their way to his throat. The man knocked the cleaver out of Mac's hand, where it scattered across the deck, towards Eggsy's feet.

"Eggsy!" he called out. Without even looking, Eggsy kicked the knife back over to Mac. The man was still on top of him, and he was much larger and stronger than him. A swift punch across Mac's face gave the man enough of an advantage to get his hands around Mac's throat and begin to squeeze. Mac began to thrash around, but the man was too strong, and wouldn't budge. Mac reached as far as he could to the side, towards the knife. He reached, and reached, and reached, until finally, the cleaver was within his grasp. With a cringe, and a silent apology for what he was about to do, Mac drew the cleaver across the man's throat, spilling his blood all over the both of him. But the hands were gone from his throat, and he could breathe again. Mac pushed the dying man away from him, and looked up at Eggsy. He could see that Eggsy had dropped the rifle and was now down to the pistol, but there were still too many men. They weren't getting out of this.

Using the cleaver, Mac pried open the crate he was hiding behind. It was filled with guns. A quick check proved that the guns were all unloaded. That didn't help. It wasn't as if Mac and Eggsy would be able to escape by using the guns as clubs.

A moment later, Eggsy was beside him, hiding behind the crate. "I'm all out, bruv," he said, panic in his eyes. There were bullets all over his suit, embedded into it. Mac stared at the suit in fascination. Was it bulletproof? How was that possible? Oh well, he couldn't worry about that.

Mac risked a quick glance over the crate and surveyed the scene. There were at least a dozen men lying dead, and even more preparing to move onto them. They were well and truly screwed.

"This could've been a lot easier on all of us," came a disappointed voice above them. Mac turned to the side, and saw the man that had originally talked to them, staring down at the both of them. The barrel of a gun was staring down at him too. The men flocked around them, all taking aim. There was no way that Eggsy's suit would be able to protect him from a headshot, and Mac didn't even have the bulletproof suit in the first place. Regretfully, Mac raised up his hands. A quick glance to the side proved that Eggsy was doing the same. "I hope you like pain," the man continued. "Because you're in for a lot of it."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is a little more on schedule lol. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Matty closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh when she hung up. After being with Phoenix for over a year now, she should have been used to ops going to hell and Mac getting himself into serious trouble. It happened often enough that she should be used to it, at least. But having been through it so often didn't assuage her fears, didn't lessen the panic that clenched her heart at the thought of the boy she thought of as a son in the hands of such terrible criminals. It didn't matter what she felt, though. She had an agency to run, and she would do that, no matter the fear in her heart.

First things first, she needed to brief Oversight. This was a conversation with James that she was absolutely not looking forward too. Any conversation that had to do with Mac was a bad conversation. His callousness towards his son had always infuriated her, but as long as Mac wasn't part of anything, she did consider James to be a friend. But she wouldn't let that stop her from giving James hell, depending on what his reaction to this predicament was. She stood up, straightened her suit, and walked out of the room. There was no sense in delaying the inevitable.

James was at his desk, seemingly reviewing some files, when she knocked and walked into his office without waiting for him to reply. It may have only taken a few seconds, but those few seconds could save Mac.

"Director Webber," Oversight said, a bit exasperated, but Matty held up a hand to stop him from saying anything else.

"We don't have a lot of time, Jim," she said, keeping steady eye contact. "You need to tell me everything you know about Kingsman, right now."

James just stared at her for a moment before responding, "excuse me?"

"Kingsman, an off the books intelligence agency based out of London. We're involved with them now, and both Mac and one of their agents were captured by the weapons dealers. Jack and Riley are with two of their agents, and they're trying to coordinate a rescue, but more information you have on them would be useful," she said. They didn't need to go over any formalities. This was Mac's life that was hanging in the balance, and Matty wasn't about to risk it with proper diplomacy with James that would just waste time.

"I've never dealt with them directly, but both Kingsman and their sister agency, Statesman, are on my radar," he replied, then sighed. "Apparently Kingsman was responsible for stopping the V Day atrocities, and for getting the cure for the poisoned drugs out. As much as I hate to admit it, Kingsman is just as capable as the Phoenix, if not more so. If one of their agents is with Angus, then he'll be fine. If Kingsman can't save them, then no one can," he finished with a shrug, then turned back to his paperwork.

"So that's it?" Matty asked in disbelief. "You're just going to sit there going over paperwork while your only son is in the hands of some of the worst criminals that Indonesia has ever put out? You're not even going to lift a finger to help Jack and the team get them back?" She shouldn't have been surprised. James had always been like this, acting like if Mac couldn't get himself out of a bad situation, then he deserved to be stuck in it. It sickened her. This was why their friendship only worked as long as Mac wasn't a part of any conversation, because then, she couldn't just ignore his callousness, and occasional cruelty.

"Matty, I just said that Kingsman is the best there is," James replied, clearly annoyed. "There's nothing I can do that's better than Kingsman. Angus already has the best help there. There's nothing I can do." He gave her one, long, look, then turned back to his desk, a clear signal that their conversation was over.

Barely holding in a groan of frustrated, Matty turned on her heel and left the room. She didn't bother to close the door behind her. James could do that himself if he really wanted to. Besides, she needed to get in contact with Bozer and Leanna, and have their exfil rerouted to Jack's position. They should be on the jet back to LA, with the entire terrorist group in custody, but they were going to have to go back to Indonesia instead.

As per usual, Bozer answered on the first ring.

"Heyyyy, Matty, ya heard how we collared basically the entire terrorist group? 'Next ISIS', my ass-"

"Bozer, now is not the time to bathe in glory," Matty interrupted. "Put me on speaker phone. Leanna needs to hear this too," she said. Aside from the fact that they both needed to hear it, it was just best for Bozer not to hear it first. He was more prone to freaking out when Mac was in danger than Leanna was. The girl had an amazing ability to calm him down.

"Okay," Bozer hesitantly replied. "You're all good." His voice sounded a bit more distant, implying that she was now on speaker phone. Matty frosted the windows and put in place a few more security measures. There was probably a reason why Kingsman was as secret as they were, so no one but Bozer and Leanna needed to hear the conversation.

"What's going on?" Leanna asked.

"Are you alone?" Matty asked in reply, instead of answering Leanna's question.

"Yeah, why?" Bozer said. "What's going on?"

"Well, in unsurprising news, the op didn't go as well for Mac, Jack, and Riley, as it did for the two of you. They managed to destroy most of the weapons, but Mac got himself taken by the dealers, along with an agent from another agency." She took a breath before continuing. "That's where things get more surprising. The agency we ran into, causing the op to fail, was Kingsman, an agency more covert than us, operating out of London, but not sanctioned by the British government. I'll send you more info once you're rerouted."

"Rerouted?" Bozer immediately repeated. "You're sending us to Jack to help find Mac, right?" he asked. "We have to help get Mac back."

"Yeah, I can't go back to LA while Mac is out there somewhere, in trouble. He'd do the same for any of us," Leanna added.

"Yes, you will be joining Jack and Riley, and a few Kingsman agents, back near the destroyed weapons facility," Matty quickly assured them. "Your pilot already has instructions as to where to go. You should be there within the hour. Look out for each other, and find my agent," she said, hanging up. She needed to take a breath before she called Jack again. Her own emotions were running high, and the conversation with James hadn't helped. Jack was always emotional, so if she was going to control herself, and stay the unflappable director that she was to all of her agents, then she needed to take a moment to herself.

Matty took a deep breath, and walked over to the window. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and the temperature was perfect. It was the perfect day for a fire at Mac's place after the op, like they usually would, but that wasn't going to happen. But they were going to get Mac back, as well as the Kingsman agent, and everything would be fine. It always was.

After taking another deep breath, Matty pulled her phone out again and called Jack. He needed to know what James had said.

"What's Oversight's plan?" Jack asked the moment he picked up. Matty tampered down on her rush of anger before answering.

"He already knows about Kingsman, and thinks that they're the best in the business. He thinks the rescue is already in the best hands it could possibly be in," she said. Technically, she'd now told Jack everything. But she had no doubt that he would understand the hidden meaning, that James wasn't going to do anything, and there was no way that Jack wasn't going to remark on that.

"James won't do anything, will he," Jack stated. Matty could tell that his teeth were clenched as he asked the not-question. "He thinks that Kingsman is capable enough to save his son, so he won't even lift a finger. That bastard..." Jack trailed off.

"Well, yes," Matty replied. There was no use beating around the bush about it. That was all there was to it. "But I've rerouted Bozer and Leanna, and they have the heads of the terrorist organization with them. Feel free to interrogate them however you see fit." That was all she needed to say. Jack was free to take what she said however he wanted it, and she wouldn't be held responsible. It was all up to Jack to decide how far he took the interrogation, but, knowing him and how far he would go for Mac, Matty knew there was a good chance that the terrorist leaders wouldn't be alive to stand trial. That was a risk that Matty was willing to take for Mac. She would take almost any risk for Mac.

"They better know where the dealers took Mac," Jack growled out in response. "And they better not be hesitant to share." Matty closed her eyes, and forced herself not to imagine what Jack would do to those men if they refused to talk. But her thoughts quickly turned from bloody terrorists, to a bloody Mac, and she was suddenly much more okay with whatever Jack had to do to find the kid, no matter the cost. Jack's tactics were often more violent than Cage's, but without her, Jack was their best shot.

"Good luck, Jack," was all she said. "I know you'll find him." Matty hung up after that. Sometimes, she hated the field she chose.

...

Harry watched as Dalton angrily shoved the phone back into his pocket. He didn't know the full conversation, but clearly, it hadn't gone the way that Dalton had wanted it to.

"Trouble at home?" Harry asked, feigning nonchalance. He could tell that Dalton wasn't the type to have a home like everyone else did, and even if he did, he would never allow trouble to touch it.

"Kid's bastard of a father won't do anything to help," Dalton muttered. "He's leavin' us on our own." He shook his head, then almost collapsed back into the chair he had vacated to take the call.

"Oversight won't do anything?" Riley asked in disbelief. Dalton just shook his head again.

"This Oversight, he is your boss? The head of your agency?" Harry asked. "Then who was it that you spoke to prior, Matilda? Our records say that she is the director of your Phoenix Foundation," he said. Of course, Merlin had taken the liberty to look up everything about the Phoenix Foundation that he possibly could, and there was no mention of this Oversight.

"Yeah, well, Oversight, who happens to be the kid's father - which is recent news to all of us, including the kid - he oversees everything from the shadows," Dalton replied. "Matty handles the day to day operations, and is charge to the public and most foreign governments. But James has the final say, and of course, he says that you guys are good enough to get Mac back on your own. He said if Kingsman can't get Mac back, no one can." Dalton shook his head again and sighed. He ran his hands over his face in frustration.

Harry couldn't even imagine what Dalton had to be feeling. He tried to put himself in Dalton's shoes, and thought of Dean saying that he wouldn't help to get Eggsy back, and even just the thought of that made Harry furious. But he knew since it wasn't true, and he'd never thought that Dean would ever lift a finger for Eggsy unless he could make money off the boy, he couldn't truly feel what Dalton was feeling.

"The good news is that we have two more agents on the way," Dalton continued with a shrug. "They've got the leaders of the terror cell with them, so we have people to interrogate." Dalton seemed stronger now. There was a darkness in his eyes that Harry recognized all too well. They were the eyes of a man who would break every law in order to save his son. Harry saw those same eyes in his own reflection sometimes, when Eggsy's life was in danger. He could tell that Riley would not be pleased to torture the terrorists for information, but she would let it happen if it meant she got her friend back. Roxy was much the same, and she was on her way as well. Merlin had contacted her, and there wasn't a chance that she would sit idly by while Eggsy was out there. Percival, of course, would be joining her.

"Well, Kingsman interrogations always yield results," Harry said, slightly inclining his head towards Merlin.

"Our success rate is very high, high enough that the only interrogations that don't give answers are the ones that end with the death of the suspect," Merlin said clinically. "And I am sure that you are well versed in the art as well."

"To get my kid back, I'll do whatever I have to," Dalton gruffly replied. That look in his eyes was back. Clearly, Riley saw it too, since she looked anxious.

"Young lady, it will be quite alright," Harry gently said, ducking his head a bit to make eye contact with her. "We will do what we have to in order to get your friend back, and believe me, we will get him back. Both of them."

Riley let out a sigh, but nodded as she ran her hands up and down her thighs, bleeding out the nerves.

"We have two more agents headed this way as well," Merlin added. "They will stop at nothing to get them back as well, I assure you," he said. Everyone nodded, and fell into silence.

"Dalton, may I have a word with you, in private?" Harry then politely asked. What he needed to ask wasn't something that he wanted to discuss in Riley's company. If Roxy or Eggsy had been there, he wouldn't have wanted them to be a part of the conversation either. They were all too pure, too innocent, for what had to be discussed. It was true, both Eggsy and Roxy had killed multiple people, and Riley likely had as well, but the truth remained that there was still an innocence and purity about them that Harry was not willing to compromise if he could avoid it.

Luckily, Dalton nodded wordlessly, and walked to the back of the jet, but not before resting his hand on top of Riley's, and giving her a gentle smile. A father giving his daughter comfort while his son was missing. It was something that Harry understood intimately. It had been Merlin that gave Roxy the news of Eggsy's capture, and a selfish part of Harry was happy for that. He wasn't very good at comfort, no matter how hard he tried. But still, he loved Roxy dearly, much more than he let on, and he knew that this was killing her.

"I wanted to speak with you in private about the interrogations," Harry calmly, quietly said, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. "I need to know how far you are willing to go in order to get the information that we need to find our agents." He had a feeling that Dalton would do anything to get Mac back, but he needed it verbally confirmed, one hundred percent. He couldn't afford to assume that Dalton was okay with enhanced interrogation, only to begin, and find out rather quickly that Dalton believed he was crossing a line.

"As far as I need to," Dalton replied. "It might not be pretty, and it might not be right, but when it's Mac, I will do anything, anything at all, to get him back. That kid is like a damn son to me, and there is nothing I won't do to save him. He comes before anything," he said, glancing over at the others when his voice rose a bit, but they didn't seem to notice.

"Well, good," Harry responded with a small smile, although there was no joy in it. "Then we are on the same page. Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at least halfway through this, I think. I'm not entirely sure lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!! I know I don't always have time to reply to them, but I read and love each and every one, so thank you so much :)

Eggsy and his new friend were back where they started: in that small holding cell. Only this time, they weren't chained to the wall like they had been before. No, this time, they were both seated, with their hands tightly tied to the arms of the chairs, and their legs much the same. Eggsy tested the strength of the ropes, but they held fast. He'd been stripped of his bullet-ridden suit jacket as well. Hopefully they would just throw it away, and not try to figure out how it was bulletproof. If that technology got into the wrong hands, the tides of crime fighting across the world could change, and not for the better. Sadly, there wasn't anything he could do about it if they did look into it. He was a bit tied up at the moment. He bit his lip to keep himself from smiling at his own pun, and glanced over at Mac to see how he was faring. Mac was staring down at his bonds, tugging at them a little bit. Just like Eggsy's own, they didn't budge.

Eggsy tried to keep his expression neutral as the cart that they had passed on their escape attempt was wheeled into the room. It still held all of the various devices that it carried before, and Eggsy was not looking forward to a single one of them.

"It didn't have to be this way, you know," their captor mused as he picked up the various tools, turned them in his hands, then set them back down. He did that with the cattle prod, a few of the knives, and the baseball bat. "I asked you nicely before, but you were stubborn and refused to answer. Then, you had the gall to try to escape." He turned to them, and picked up the baseball bat. "That will not be happening again," he said, shaking his head as he walked up to Mac. "You're just lucky I didn't bring the saw."

Before either Eggsy or Mac could respond, the man swung the baseball bat down onto Mac's knee, once, twice, three times. Eggsy cringed as Mac screamed, a bloodcurdling sound filled with anguish. Finally, his scream turned into a choked off sob. His kneecap had to be shattered after a beating like that, and Eggsy knew that the man was coming for him too.

"You don't have to do that, bruv," he said, a nervous smile on his face. "He can't walk now, and I would never leave him behind, so you don't have to do that again." Eggsy knew it wasn't going to work, but he had to try. He really didn't want to have his knee shattered too, he really didn't.

"Don't worry, I have something else prepared for you," the man said with a sadistic smile. With a draw as quick as a gunman in American westerns, the man pulled his sidearm from his hip, and fired it straight into Eggsy's calf, lodging the bullet in his tibia. He grunted in pain, biting his lip to keep himself quiet. He'd been shot before, he could handle this. He tasted blood in his mouth from where he bit his lip so hard, and tried to breathe through the pain. It was better to be shot than to have his knee bludgeoned. He was luckier than Mac. He was likely in less pain than Mac too. He should be grateful. Still, Eggsy breathed deeply and tried to force the pain from his mind. They would be fine. Harry knew he had been captured, so he had to be on his way. Harry had been saving him ever since they met, whether it be from jail or Dean or an op gone bad, and this would be no different. Harry was going to save him, and everything would be fine.

"Now that you won't be escaping any time soon, the real fun can begin," the man continued. He set the gun back down on the cart, then snapped his fingers like bad guys do in the movies. Two men came into the room, and stood menacingly off to the side. "Or, you can just tell me what I want to know now, and the pain will end," he said with a shrug. "Who are you, and who are you working for?"

Eggsy just glared at the man in silence. He didn't hear a sound coming from Mac either. The man sighed, then motioned to his men. One walked behind the chair that Mac was tied to, and tilted it back a bit. Mac began to struggle, and it was clear that he knew what was coming, but there was nothing either he or Eggsy could do to stop it. Another man grabbed the large water jug, and the head bad guy grabbed the thin rag. Eggsy struggled fruitlessly against his bonds, wanting to get the men away from Mac and stop this from happening, but the ropes held tight, and his moving only served to make the pain in his leg flare up.

"This won't work, you're only wasting time," Mac rushed out in a panic as the rag was forced over his face. He continued to struggle, but it didn't work. Eggsy turned away, guiltily. He couldn't watch this.

"We'll see about that," the man said. Eggsy wasn't looking, but he knew what was happening next, based on the sounds he heard. His heart was breaking for Mac, who had tried so hard to help them escape, who had risked his life to come back and save Eggsy from the bomb, and here he was, taking the torture yet again. He could tell that this wasn't the first time that Mac had been tortured. It wasn't fair. None of it was. Harry had to come save them, he just had to.

Finally, the rag was pulled away, and Mac's chair was leveled again. He was coughing up so much water, Eggsy was impressed that he wasn't completely drowned. Still, Mac glared up at the man, with a resolve in his eyes that Eggsy admired.

"I told you it wouldn't work," Mac growled.

The man let out a deep chuckle. "You think I'm done trying? Think again boy," he said, then reached for the cattle prod on the cart.

"Oh, come on, bruv," Eggsy said, trying to deflect some of the attention, even if it meant he was tortured instead. He could take it if it meant that Mac didn't have to. He owed him that at least.

And it seemed as though the man was willing to let him pay up, because instead of going straight towards Mac, he swung the prod around and jammed it right above Eggsy's collarbone. Eggsy didn't have time to scream, his muscles immediately locking up as the electricity coursed through him. It felt like years before the prod was removed. When it was finally gone, it left him gasping for breath, just like Mac had been. After a brief respite, the prod was once again shoved against him, this time to his ribs. It felt like his ribs were on fire, his lungs completely constricted. He couldn't breathe. Was he dying?

"Care to tell me who you are now?" the man asked, removing the cattle prod once more. "If not, this will only continue."

"You can go screw yourself," Mac quickly replied. He was still out of breath, breathing much too heavily, but the glare he mustered bolstered Eggsy's strength as well.

"I can do this all night, mate," Eggsy added. Of course, he didn't want to do this all night, he really, really didn't want to, but he could. They just had to hold out long enough for Harry to rescue them, because Harry was going to rescue them. It didn't matter that they were on a boat, Harry would still find a way to get to them. He always did.

"Good," the man replied. "Because you will." He quickly turned and thrust the cattle prod into the junction between Mac's neck and shoulder, and for the first time, Eggsy could smell the burning flesh, and it made him sick to his stomach.

The enhanced interrogation - torture, actually - continued for what seemed like hours. In reality, Eggsy had no idea how long it had been, just that he was exhausted and in pain and maybe he was dying. He didn't really know for sure. He had small gashes from knives all over his body, leaving his shirt in bloody tatters. The cattle prod had been used a few more times, leaving the stench of burnt skin lingering in the room. Mac was much the same, covered in blood and cuts and burns, and he was drenched from the waterboarding too. They were quite a pair.

The man grabbed the baseball bat again, and Eggsy couldn't stop the panic he felt. He didn't want to feel that, but he didn't want Mac to either. But he didn't have a choice.

"I'll ask you one more time," the man said. "Who are you, and who are you working for?" Once again, Mac and Eggsy both just glared at him. They could survive this. They would be fine. With a groan of frustration, the man swung the bat up, and then down, straight onto Eggsy's wrist, just in front of the bonds. Eggsy couldn't hold back the scream that it tore from his throat. The pain of shattered bones in his wrist brought his mind back to places he didn't want to go, back to Dean, back to the pain of the man hurting him, back to watching his mum cry out and try to stop Dean from hurting her baby boy. Eggsy forced his scream down and groaned through clenched teeth. He was fine, Dean was in prison, and couldn't hurt him or his mum anymore. This was different, and Harry was going to save him, he always did. Still, Eggsy remained silent.

The man walked back over to the cart, and picked up one of the jagged knives again. He slowly turned, holding the knife up, as if he were admiring it.

"I'm going to enjoy this," he said. "But you won't." He stepped toward Mac, and rested a hand on his shoulder. Eggsy could see how hard Mac was trying to not let his panic get the best of him, but he could tell that he was scared, and their captor probably could too. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice much too calm.

"Beyonce," Mac said through clenched teeth, clearly not wanting to sacrifice his facade of bravery just yet. But, facade or not, Eggsy could tell that Mac possessed a courage that few did, and although that courage might get him killed, it would save his agency.

"Wrong answer," the man said, then shoved the knife deep into the fleshy part of Mac's shoulder. Mac grunted, closing his eyes against the pain. "Not so snarky and talkative now, are you," the man said, a sick smile on his face. "Come on, boy, you can do better than that. Scream for me," he said, slowly twisting the knife in Mac's shoulder. Mac let out a choked off sob, and Eggsy could see blood coming from his mouth, probably from biting his lip. "Scream, boy," the man repeated, twisting the knife around with a force and speed that made Eggsy sick. Finally, Mac couldn't keep it in anymore, and screamed in pain as he struggled weakly to get away from the man. His screams turned into sobs, but still, he didn't say anything. Suddenly, the man ripped the knife away, drawing another pain filled gasp from Mac. He turned to Eggsy with a glare. "You better think long and hard about your priorities, or this knife will taste you as well," he said, shaking the knife in Eggsy's direction.

Finally, the man, frustrated with his lack of results, turned and left, slamming the door shut behind him. It locked with a loud click, but Eggsy couldn't bring himself to care. At least they would be given a respite from the new pain.

"How you doin'?" Mac asked him after a few moments of silence and several deep breaths against the pain in his shoulder - and everywhere else.

Eggsy turned to his friend, disbelief in his eyes. "I should be askin' you the same thing," he said. Eggsy wasn't sure how bad he looked, but Mac was rough. There was blood everywhere, and his shirt was basically gone. There were burn marks everywhere, and he was shivering slightly in the cold. It wasn't that cold in there, but being wet probably made it a lot worse.

"I'll be fine," Mac muttered in response. "This isn't even close to the worst I've been through." Eggsy had a feeling that that was the case, but still, that didn't make it any easier to hear.

"Same here," he replied with a small smile. They had to find the humor where they could.

"It'll be okay. Jack always gets me out of stuff like this," Mac said. "We'll be fine, he's coming, I know it. We just have to wait."

"Harry'll be comin' too," Eggsy added with a small smile. "I bet he and your Jack are already on their way now." He would just have to keep telling himself that. Harry wouldn't abandon him. Everything was going to be fine. It had to be.

"Yeah, they're probably right outside that door, just listening to us talk about them," Mac said, shaking his head fondly. "We just have to wait," he continued softly, almost in a whisper.

Eggsy nodded, but he couldn't bring himself to reply. Waiting was always the hardest part, especially when it came with a lot of pain. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to steel himself against it. It didn't matter how hard it was. He couldn't give up, and he couldn't give in. He had to protect Kingsman, and his death would shatter Harry. Eggsy just couldn't let that happen. He snapped his eyes back open and stared at the door. Whatever the man that held them came back through with, Eggsy was ready.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wouldn't be Kingsman without f bombs. The first one shows up in this chapter. It just flowed so well from Harry that I couldn't bring myself to take it away. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Jack's nerves were starting to get the best of him. All he wanted was to get Mac back in his arms, but he didn't even know where the kid had been taken to yet, and they wouldn't be finding out until Bozer and Leanna arrived with the suspects. He knew that they would be there any minute, but that was too long. Without something to do to keep himself occupied, all Jack could do was think of all the terrible things that could have been happening to Mac. How busted up would the kid be when Jack finally got to him? Would he even make it in time? No, Jack couldn't think like that. Mac was going to be fine. He was always fine, because Jack always got there in time. This would be no different. Jack was going to get there in time, just like he always did.

He could tell that Harry was nervous too, although the Brit was doing a slightly better job at hiding it. He had a bit more of a temper, but was otherwise sullen and silent, staring off into the middle distance, likely doing the same thing that Jack was doing, thinking about all the terrible things that could have been happening to his kid.

Riley and Merlin, at least, had their respective rigs to keep them occupied. Jack and Harry had no such luxury.

Finally, Riley's computer chirped, and she sighed in relief. "Bozer and Leanna just touched down, they'll be here any second," she said. The two had been instructed to land at the same off the grid airstrip that Jack and the others were hanging out at, in the Kingsman jet. Jack quickly stood, wiping the nervous sweat of his palms off on his jeans. It was go time. He looked over at Harry, who looked more serious and intimidating than he normally did, and gave him a nod, which Harry returned. Whatever it took, they were getting their kids back.

"Bring in those bastards," Merlin said, clicking a button and opening up the jet door for them. A staircase was released as well. "Roxy and Percival better hurry up and get here if they don't want to miss all the fun," he said with a smile. While Jack didn't consider potentially torturing a terrorist for information a good time, he did appreciate the Scot's enthusiasm.

Jack stepped out onto the stairs, and was greeted with the sight of Bozer and Leanna leading two fully chained and hooded terrorists across the airstrip. Jack's blood began to boil just looking at them. It was because of those men that Mac was in danger, probably being hurt. That was an unforgivable sin. He felt Harry tense beside as well, so clearly the feeling was mutual. Maybe they were more alike than they thought. Jack walked down to meet them, and wordlessly took one of the men out of Bozer's grasp. He began to drag him much more harshly towards the jet, and made sure that the man tripped once or twice.

"Thanks for delivering the scumbags," Jack muttered, just loud enough for Bozer and Leanna to be able to hear him. "Is there anything I should know about the raid before we get to work?" he asked. Riley had already given him the basic report that Leanna had sent to her, but Jack needed to make sure that there wasn't more to it.

"Just that they're dirtbags with no respect for human life," Leanna answered, glaring at the men, despite the fact that they couldn't see her. They weren't making any sounds either, so Jack suspected that they were either gagged, or couldn't speak English. He really hoped it was the former.

Jack marched the man up the stairs and into the jet. Merlin directed him to a back room where he deposited the man and his equally evil friend, then stepped back out for a moment.

"Boze, Leanna, meet Harry and Merlin, Kingsman agents," Jack introduced, gesturing to the British men.

"Matty briefed us on the flight," Bozer replied, reaching a hand out to greet the agents.

"Were you guys really the ones who stopped V-Day?" Leanna asked, disbelief and respect in his voice. She shook their hands as well.

"Well, Merlin, Roxy, and Eggsy did," Harry replied. "I was dead at the time," he deadpanned. Merlin scoffed, but nodded. "But that is a story for another time. Now is the time to interrogate those bastards who took Eggsy and your friend." His expression turned dark, and he turned on his heel and headed for the back room where they were keeping the terrorists. "Care to join me, Dalton?" he asked.

"It would be my pleasure," Jack muttered. He turned to Riley, who sent him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. He tried to smile back, but it fell flat. He couldn't smile while his kid was out there, probably hurt and definitely scared. Jack walked into the back room, and saw that Harry had already taken off the men's hoods, and ungagged them. He took a deep breath, and prepared himself for what he would likely have to do.

"Don't worry," Harry said, turning to him. He sounded very genuine. "These walls are soundproof." Harry wasn't talking to the terrorists, but to Jack himself. "They won't hear anything."

Jack nodded. He appreciated that more than he would tell. Despite the fact that he would do literally anything to get Mac back, he hated the thought of Riley, Bozer, and Leanna being forced to hear him torture someone, terrorist or not. Jack tried to remind himself that it probably wasn't even as bad as what was happening to Mac. The thought of his kid screaming in pain, a sound that echoed in Jack's nightmares, steeled his resolve. Anything for Mac. Anything.

...

Now, it was Riley's turn to wait. She hated waiting. Distracting herself with her rig only worked for so long, and it was clear that the same went for Merlin as well. He seemed equally as restless.

"Maybe you should let them know what all your cool gadgets do," Riley suggested, nodding towards Bozer and Leanna. Maybe that would help them all to calm down a little bit.

Merlin sighed, but nodded. "Fine," he muttered. "Listen up, because I've already explained this to your friends, and I'm only gonna do it this one last time, and them I'm done, got it?" he asked them.

"Yes, sir," Bozer responded, slowly taking a seat, Leanna's hand still in his. With a smile, she sat down next to him.

"Now this here is a grenade, not a lighter, so don't play with it..."

As Merlin went on and on, Riley tuned out. She'd already heard all of it before, and, as cool as it was, she had other things on her mind, like how badly hurt Mac was going to be when they found him - and that was when they found him, not if, because there was no if. Would he ever be able to go back into the field again? Would there be any permanent damage? Riley took a slow, deep breath to calm herself. Thinking like that wouldn't help. Instead, she thought of what she wanted to do to the men that Jack and Harry were interrogating, and what she would do to Mac's captors, given the chance. Mac was like a little brother to her, and no one touched her little brother and got away with it.

A chirp coming from Merlin's screen stole her attention. "Incoming?" she hesitantly asked.

"Ah, yes," Merlin responded. "That should be Roxy and Percival." He turned to the monitor and nodded, seemingly content with that. He pressed a button and the jet door was opened, and the staircase lowered itself. Less than a minute later, a man and a young woman walked in. The woman was probably about Riley's age, maybe younger, but not by a lot.

"Where are they?" the woman practically growled, fire in her eyes. She was British as well, which shouldn't have surprised Riley, and she was also just as finely dressed in a fitted suit just like the rest of the Kingsman men were.

"Harry and Agent Dalton are handling it," Merlin said, holding up his hands placatingly. "They're going to get the answers we need to find Eggsy." The woman was seething, but she nodded. The man who stood behind her rested a hand on her shoulder, and that seemed to help to calm her. "Agents Lancelot, and Percival," Merlin said, pointing to the woman and man respectively.

The woman sighed. "Call me Roxy," she said, extending her hand to Riley, who took it with a smile.

"Riley," she said. They all went around and introduced themselves, and Riley had to keep herself from asking why some of the Kingsman agents were so cavalier with their real names while others, like Merlin and Percival, would only be spoken of by their codenames. Not even Harry had called Merlin anything but that, but he had called Roxy and Eggsy by their given names - well, technically nicknames, but still. She'd never heard him call Eggsy by his codename, which was apparently Galahad.

Roxy plopped herself into the open chair next to Riley. "When I get my hands on the men who took Eggsy..." she muttered.

"You'll rip them limb from limb and make them wish they were never born?" Riley guessed. Roxy looked over at her with a small chuckle and nodded. "Get in line. They took Mac, and that's not something that I'm willing to let them get away with. Plus, I think Jack and Harry are gonna bust down the doors first," she said with a smile.

"As long as they get what's coming to them, which includes getting their entrails ripped out and strung from the ceiling fan," Roxy said. It was a little odd, hearing a beautiful, classy British girl, with perfectly manicured nails and a bespoke suit, speak so easily about something so disgusting. But Riley loved it.

"That's the least they deserve," Riley added. She had a feeling that she and Roxy were going to get along just fine. For a while, Riley listened to Merlin drone on some more, but she didn't engage in any conversation that the others were having. She just wasn't feeling it.

Eventually, Roxy swiveled her chair to turn to Riley, lips slightly pursed and her chin resting on her hand. "How long have you known your friend? Mac, right?" she asked.

Riley smiled. "It's been a few years now. The first time we met was when he sprung me from prison, and he quickly became a friend. Then, even more quickly than I thought possible, he became the little brother I never wanted." She sighed. "I don't know, none of us have siblings, me, Mac, Bozer, and Leanna, so we kind of became siblings, I guess. Except for Bozer and Leanna," she quickly added, eyes wide. "They're dating, so it would be weird if they were like siblings. But Leanna is my little sister, and you can't let Bozer know, but he's like a big brother to me too." She shrugged. Her memory contained seemingly endless moments of family bonding between them, including Matty and Jack as the pseudo-parents. She just couldn't imagine those moments being over, but if they lost Mac, they would be. They all loved each other so much, but Mac was their heart and soul. Life without him would be harder than anything. She'd rather go back to prison, or back to living with Elwood, than lose him.

"Eggsy has been the same," Roxy replied with a smile. "We met when we were both recruited for Kingsman, and we immediately hit it off. He is my best friend, and I can't imagine being Lancelot without him as Galahad. We've been with each other through so much, from him helping me through my recovery after the mansion was bombed, to me being there for him after his breakup. His stepdad hit him, shoved him around forced him to do terrible things. I just hate knowing that someone else is doing that to him, and I'm not there to protect him. He always protects me. I have to be there for him," she said, the fire returning to her eyes. Roxy sat up and straightened her suit. "We're going to find them, and bring them home. I will never stop looking for him. And-," she broke off when the door to the back room opened.

Jack and Harry walked through, with just a bit of blood on both of them. Riley tried to look around them and into the room, but she couldn't see anything. She couldn't help but wonder what Jack had had to do. She knew he would never tell her, but she would always wonder. There wasn't a lot of blood on them, but there certainly was some, and it was obvious. It was all she could see.

"We've got a location," Jack growled, not looking Riley in the eye.

"In the middle of the fucking ocean," Harry continued for him. "They're on a boat, headed for Somalia, no stops along the way. They left from a port near here, and are on a deadline, so they'll be traveling quickly. We have the coordinates for where they'll be docking in Somalia. We'll intercept them there, and get our agents back." Harry sent a small smile Roxy's way, and nodded at Percival, but his heart clearly wasn't it.

"Good. We're getting them back," Riley said, then turned back to her rig. She opened up a program to input the coordinates of the docks so she could do some surveillance. Finally, they had a plan.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful comments! I'm sorry that I haven't had time to reply to each and every one of them, but I adore them all <3 I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Usually, Mac's internal clock was pretty accurate. He just had a good sense of how much time had passed, and what time it currently was at any given moment. But in a room with no clock or sunlight, for what felt like days, that internal clock was pretty messed up, and Mac had absolutely no idea what it was, or how long he and Eggsy had been held captive. All Mac did know was that he was in pain, and he wanted Jack. He wanted Jack to tell him that everything was going to be okay, that he was going to be fine. But Jack wasn't there, at least not yet. The stab wound in his shoulder was throbbing, his shattered knee was screaming at him, and he could feel water in his lungs. He was going to get pneumonia, that he knew for sure. Eggsy had to be feeling about the same. The two of them weren't talking much, instead, they tried to take advantage of the respite and get some much needed rest. Mac felt like he could sleep for a week, but sadly, he was in too much pain to fall asleep, but not enough to pass out. It was the worst middleground.

He tried to focus on the fact that each second of pain was one second closer to Jack getting him out of there. Because Jack had to be coming for him. Jack would never leave him, he would always come for him, right? At least, Mac hoped so. A little voice inside him told him that Jack didn't care, that if Mac couldn't get himself out, then he wasn't worth it to save, but he knew that was just James' voice talking to him, telling him that if he couldn't get out, he was just a damsel in distress who didn't deserve saving. But he had managed to escape earlier with relative ease. If they hadn't been on a boat, then they would've made it out. It wasn't Mac's fault that he hadn't known they were on a boat somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean - at least, it made the most sense for them to be in the Indian Ocean, but Mac couldn't say for sure. He couldn't even say how long he and Eggsy had been trapped in there. Were the men just trying to starve them into talking? They hadn't been given any food or water, and Mac was starting to feel those effects.

"Do you think they're still coming for us?" Eggsy asked, his voice so low that Mac had to strain to hear him.

"They have to be," Mac replied, his voice almost equally as low. "Jack would never leave me, he has to be coming. He, Riley, and Bozer are the only ones who, as long as they've known me, have never left me or doubted me. They have to be coming," he insisted, his voice rising a bit in desperation. He just couldn't imagine them not coming. They had to be.

"I know, and Harry and Merlin and Roxy are the same for me, but what if they can't come?" Eggsy asked. Mac finally looked over at him. There was such pain in his eyes, but Mac didn't think it was all physical. "I think we need to start considering the possibility that they can't come, that something happened and we're on our own-"

"No," Mac interrupted. "Jack wouldn't let that happen, he's the best of the best, he's coming-"

"Mac, stop," Eggsy interrupted right back. "I don't want to consider that possibility either, but we have to now, okay?" Mac looked away from his friend, blinking back tears. He knew Eggsy was right, but even the thought of something having happened to Jack tore at his heart more than any stab would ever could. Looking back at Eggsy, he could tell that he was feeling the same. "We need to start thinking of a way to get outta here ourselves."

"I know," Mac replied, his voice breaking. He took a deep breath before continuing. "But what are we supposed to do? My knee is shattered and there's a bullet in your leg. Neither one of us are in a position to be able to walk out of here, much less fight our way out." It hadn't been this bad in a long time, maybe since Cairo.

"Well..." Eggsy muttered, trailing off. "If we got guns, we'd at least have a chance, if you're willing to use one. We could lean on each other, like the most pathetic three legged race ever or somethin' like that, and then we'd just shoot anyone who got in the way. I'm sure there's a lifeboat we could steal. At least we'd have a chance," he said, slightly shrugging his shoulders, his eyes downcast.

Mac didn't know which was worse, dying at the hands of their captors, or out in the middle of the ocean, dying of dehydration and heat stroke. Both sounded remarkably terrible. That was why Jack had to come, because Jack would never let Mac die like that. He would never let Mac die at all. Jack would never let that happen. Still, that didn't change the fact that Mac and Eggsy were well and truly trapped, and it would be good to have a plan to get out as a worst case scenario, even if their plan was doomed to fail and they both knew it.

"I know it's not somethin' you wanna think about," Eggsy continued, although Mac didn't know if he was referring to using a gun, or something having happened to Jack, or both. "But we have to."

"I know, I know," Mac quickly replied, if just to get Eggsy to shut up. "It's just...Jack is invincible, you know?" he said with a small smile and shake of his head. "Whenever I'm in a jam, he's always been there to get me out of it. Throughout all the times I've been kidnapped or captured or held hostage or whatever, he's always there when I need help, even when I don't deserve it." He shook his head again. "When my dad came back into the picture, Jack was right there for me, no matter what. He was the only one who told me that my feelings about my dad were okay. I mean, he did say that maybe I should put them aside for the sake of helping the world, and he was totally right, but still. After I came back, he was the only one who wasn't telling me that I should just forgive my dad for everything and move on, and I just, I don't know, I needed that. Jack's been more of a dad to me since I was nineteen than my real dad ever was, or ever could be." Mac turned away, unable to look Eggsy in the eye. He'd said too much, he was being too vulnerable with someone he barely knew. It was the pain, yeah, that was it, he was in too much pain to control what he said.

After a minute, Eggsy replied, "Harry helped me to put my stepdad away." Mac looked up at him, finally making eye contact. "I don't really remember my real dad, he died when I was pretty young. But Dean, he pushed me and my mum about for as long as I can remember. He made me do such terrible things, all to get him and his gang more money. A few times, he almost killed me. Held a butcher's knife right up to my throat, held me against the counter. Harry saved my life then, and he's been savin' me ever since." He paused for a moment, a fond smile on his face. "After V-Day, I went to get my mum from him, move her and the baby into a new house, and I finally got to square up with Dean and his lot. I never saw them again. Harry would never say so, later, but Merlin told me that it was only because of a file that Harry had collected on them that they were thrown in prison for everything they did. So I get it. Harry's been a dad to me too, the only real one I've ever known." He shrugged, gave a soft smile, then turned away. "I don't even have any fond memories of my real dad, but Harry," he paused letting out a soft laugh. "Harry and I have gotten up to a lot of shenanigans together. We saved Elton John from Poppy Adams, during the whole fiasco with the Golden Circle cartel, and he gave Harry and I backstage passes to his next show. That was the first time that we really got to just hang out, and have fun, and not do anything spy related." He smiled again, and fondly shook his head. "Harry is always so calm and composed, but he had the biggest smile on his face that night, and he sang along with me and he just had a great time. That's one of my greatest memories with him. I got absolutely plastered that night, just completely wasted, but I still remember Harry helping me to get home, and making sure that I was alright. I can never repay him for always bein' there for me."

Mac didn't know how to reply. Was he even supposed to? This kind of thing was never what he was best at, that was always Jack's forte. He relied on Jack so much for all of that emotional stuff. He was often the only one who could ever get Mac to open up, and occasionally release the floodgates. There was no one that Mac allowed himself to be that emotional around except for Jack. James had always said that being so emotional was a liability, and that if he couldn't deal with it himself, then he was a liability. Mac had always thought that maybe that was the reason why James left, because he couldn't handle how emotional Mac was. That's why Mac thought it was so wrong to be emotional for so long. But Jack didn't agree. He didn't treat Mac so coldly like James did whenever he got even a little bit emotional. Jack didn't scoff and tell him that he didn't have time for that kind of thing, didn't tell him that he needed to toughen up and get over it. Jack was there for him, Jack listened, he helped, and he let Mac have emotions. If Jack was gone, Mac didn't know what he would do.

"Jack's always been the same," Mac replied. "He's always there for me, in the good and the bad. We always have a beer and a fire after a mission, out on my deck, but Jack usually ends up staying the night. If Bozer's out, then Jack will make us pancakes in the morning. He always makes me watch Bruce Willis movies with him." Mac scoffed, but there was a smile on his face. "He loves Bruce Willis so much. And he just takes care of me, you know?" Mac sighed, shaking his head. "He listens to me ramble on about scientific stuff that he doesn't understand, just because he knows I love talking about the laws of thermodynamics and temporal relativity. Sometimes, he'll just get the biggest smile on his face when I'm talking about stuff like that, but then as soon as I look over at him, he'll change to look confused. I don't know why, but it makes him happy when I talk about that stuff, even though he doesn't want to admit it."

"He's happy 'cause your happy, bruv," Eggsy quickly replied, not missing a beat, looking him straight in the eyes. "You're a smart guy, you should know that. It's like when Harry gets so happy watching me and JB, my dog. He's happy 'cause you're happy." Eggsy shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and maybe, it was. Eggsy was right, and Mac knew it. He'd always known that. He just hadn't wanted to accept that maybe, just maybe, his happiness was important to someone. Because if he did accept that, then it meant that James was wrong, and that little voice in the back of his mind just screamed at him, just like James did, whenever Mac questioned what James said.

"If something is wrong, then we have to do something," Mac finally said. Eggsy looked up at him, a bit of confusion in his pain filled eyes at the abrupt change in conversation. "If Jack and Harry can't come, then something's wrong. What if they need help to? You're right." Mac nodded, emboldened. "We can't rely on them to get us out of here, especially if they're in trouble too. If they're not coming, it means something's wrong, and that means we have to get ourselves out, and help them."

Eggsy grinned. "Now you're talkin'," he said. "So what's the plan, bruv? These ropes ain't gonna untie themselves." Mac frowned, squinting his eyes and looking down at the ropes. Eggsy was right, the ropes would prove difficult to get out from. Mac didn't have anything to cut them with, and he'd already tried rubbing his wrists to loosen them. That hadn't worked, it had only made his wrists more bloody and raw than they already were. So if they couldn't untie themselves on their own, they were going to have to get someone else to do it for them. Maybe, if they got lucky, they could make that work.

"They've gotta come back in here eventually, and when they do, they're gonna untie us," Mac said with a smile. It wasn't his best plan, but it just might work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The action in this chapter was difficult to write, so I kind of just didn't write it at all. I hope the way I did it still works though. Kingsman is so amazing in its fight sequences, and there was just no way that I could convey that in writing, so I took a different approach. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!

It took all of the patience that Harry could muster to just sit there and wait. Anyone who knew Harry thought that he was the master of patience and poise, always willing to wait until exactly the right moment to act, and doing so with the grace befitting of a British gentleman spy. But really, it was all a facade. Harry was not a patient man, especially when those he cared about were in danger. Usually, waiting was the best tactic, so that's what he would do, despite the voice in his head that kept telling him to just move. In this case, it was especially difficult. The Somali port city of Xaafuun was where their intel had led them, but until the cargo ship carrying Eggsy and Mac got there, all they could do was wait.

Two of the Phoenix agents, Bozer and Leanna, blended in the best, so they took the more open observation spots at the docks. Harry and Dalton were more concealed, but not conspicuously so, just enough to be a bit less easily noticed. Roxy and Percival were also a bit more hidden, but were separated from the rest of the them as not to draw suspicion. Riley and Merlin had set up overwatch in a nearby hotel, and would be monitoring everything from there. Everyone was connected on comms, but the channel was silent. No one was in the mood for idle chatter, and besides, Eggsy was always the one who would start up the random conversations about the most bizarre things anyway.

"You should just be able to see the ship on the horizon," came Riley's voice across the comm channel. Harry looked over at the sea, and saw a ship out in the distance that appeared to be heading their way. Due to such poor national governance, it was unlikely that the ship would be searched upon docking. Their manifest, however inaccurate, would simply be accepted, and port authorities would just watch with disinterest while chemical weapons were unloaded and brought into the country. Interest of a different kind would be given to the captives on board. Human trafficking was alive and well in that area of Africa, and everyone knew it. Most likely, Eggsy and Mac would be killed by their captors instead, but Harry couldn't ignore that that was a possible fate for them as well. Both situations were terrible, and that was why he and the others were waiting right there. The moment the ship docked, they would all move in, and take out every hostile in their way. Harry knew that his agents and Dalton were definitely up to the task, and he hoped that Bozer and Leanna were as well. They were around Roxy's age, but Harry got the feeling that the Phoenix Foundation didn't kill quite as often as Kingsman did. Still, it was a necessary evil that Dalton clearly understood, so hopefully the others would as well, and wouldn't hesitate. Hesitation cost lives, and Harry would not allow it to cost Eggsy his. It was their teams clashing that got Eggsy into this mess, and Harry would get him out, no matter what.

"You might want to start moving into position," Merlin added several minutes later, once the ship had gotten much closer.

"I was about to say the same thing," Harry replied. He glanced over at Dalton, who nodded once, then they both started moving a bit closer to where the ship was beginning to dock, and checked their weapons, despite the fact that they'd both been checking their weapons religiously the entire time that they were waiting. It was just something to help ensure them that things were going to go their way.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Bozer and Leanna, both with their guns drawn, exactly in position. Roxy and Percival were on the other side of the docks, but he assumed that they were ready as well.

"All teams ready to move?" Dalton asked as he peeked over the crates they were hiding behind.

"Ready and anxious to move," Roxy replied. Harry could hear the stress in her voice, and he couldn't blame her. It was her best friend that was held captive on that ship, and her best friend was, in every way but biologically, his son.

"Ready to go, Jack," was Bozer's muttered reply. He sounded ready. Harry could only hope that when the time came, he and Leanna truly would be ready.

Harry closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. It was almost time. They could do this. They were going to get Eggsy and Mac back, or die trying. He would not leave them to whatever fate the terrorists had planned for them. When he opened his eyes, it was time.

"Move," he said. Harry and Dalton quickly leapt over the crate, and made their way over to the gangways. He could see Roxy and Percival moving in from the opposite direction, their guns drawn and ready to be fired. Thanks to a software that Merlin had been developing, he and Riley would be able to hack in remotely, and gain access to the cameras and doors on board the ship.

"Cameras are looped, you shouldn't be seen," Riley said. Although they were willing to take out everyone in their path, it would still be easiest if they weren't seen coming on the cameras. It was a little thing, but it would aid them nonetheless.

Harry zoned out as he boarded the ship. They had taken the weapons dealers by surprise, making them easy prey. Harry shot everyone in his path without a single thought. Men fell left and right by his gun, and he felt no remorse. These were criminals who were dealing with terrorists across the globe, and they had taken Eggsy. There was no reason to feel remorse for them. Based on the cold fury he saw on Dalton's face, the man was feeling the same way. He heard near constant gunfire, but no shouts of pain, so their team was likely still intact.

"The detention block appears to be on the bottom level of the ship, but I'm not seein' Eggsy or Mac anywhere," Merlin said, confused. "I don't see any prisoners at all, but I do see two dead guards down there."

"Either they don't have cameras in the rooms they use as cells, or Mac and Eggsy aren't there," Riley added, her voice noticeably higher in concern.

"It'll be alright," came Merlin's whispered reply, likely not meant to be heard over comms, for Riley's ears only.

Harry tried not to think of the possibility that Eggsy and Mac were already dead, their bodies tossed into the ocean. That just wasn't an option. It couldn't be. Harry would not outlive his kid, that's not how it was supposed to work. Ignoring the worry gnawing at him, Harry continued his barrage through the ship, taking down everyone he saw as he made his way to the lower levels. He finally stopped when he arrived to the site where two men were already lying dead, clearly having been so for several hours. Harry quickly cleared the area, and holstered his gun once he saw Dalton at the end of the hallway.

"Find them?" he asked, even though he knew that if Dalton had indeed found them, he would already know about it. There was some blood on Dalton, but it didn't look like it was his.

"Bunch of bad guys, bunch of weapons, no kids," Dalton replied, shaking his head. He put his own gun back in his thigh holster - Harry had to keep from rolling his eyes at something that was so incredibly American - and marched over to the dead men. Dalton knelt down right in front of them, seemingly examining them. "Looks like they were shot close range," he muttered. There was blood on the wall as well, and a bullet hole. "A through and through, lodging in the wall." Dalton pushed the closest door open, and Harry could hear his sharp intake of breath. Harry quickly made his way to the room, and could immediately see what had made Dalton stop in his tracks.

"I think we've found where they were kept," he said. Harry's words were immediately met with a cacophony of "did you find them" from almost everyone on the channel. "They're not here, but they definitely were." There were two chairs in the middle of the room, and a cart holding various torture devices. There was blood on the chairs and on the floor, and there were bloody ropes on the ground.

Harry's attention was finally taken away by a sound coming from the end of the corridor. He quickly turned, hoping to see Eggsy, but it was Roxy.

"Percival and the others have secured the weapons and the survivors, now what's going on? Where are Eggsy and Mac?" she asked.

"They're not here," Dalton muttered. "I don't know where they are but they're not here." He stalked out of the room and quickly slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. "Riley, please tell me you've got something, anything, that could tell us where he is? Where they are?"

"Jack, I'm doing everything I can," the girl replied. She sounded close to tears. "They're not anywhere on the cameras, I don't think they're on board."

"Maybe they escaped, maybe Mac made something out of something and they escaped," Bozer added.

For a moment, no one said anything, then Harry had an idea. "Merlin, are all of the lifeboats in their proper places?" he asked.

After a moment of typing, Merlin replied, "two appear to be missing, actually. I'll pull up a satellite view of the ocean, hopefully we can find them easily."

"I'll call Matty," Riley added. "See if she can get us a chopper to start looking. That jet won't cut it for search and rescue. Exfil's gotta be here soon anywhere for the weapons and the survivors."

Roxy sighed heavily. "I swear I'm gonna kill Eggsy for this," she said, shaking her head.

In the silence, Harry felt himself staring once again at the cart of torture devices. He couldn't help but wonder which ones had been used on his boy. There were bloody knives, a baseball bat, a cattle prod, and a rag and bucket of water. They all said enhanced interrogation to him. But they couldn't be too badly injured, right? If they'd managed to commandeer a lifeboat, then they had to be unhurt enough to do it - or, the more likely scenario, they were just too stubborn to accept defeat and pushed through the pain. Eggsy certainly had a knack for ignoring his injuries, and if Mac was anything like his team said he was, then he would ignore his own injuries as well.

"We shouldn't have killed them so quickly," Dalton muttered. Harry only heard his voice beside him, and not through comms, implying that Jack had turned his off. "For what they did to those boys, they deserve so much worse than single shots to the head or a double tap to the chest." Dalton walked into the small cell, and glared down at the cart. As swiftly as he had thrown his fist against the wall, he lashed out at the cart and tossed it, throwing its contents across the room. "Where are those survivors?" he growled, stalking out of the room and down the corridor. Harry wasn't going to stop him.

Instead, Harry made his way up to the top deck, towards the lifeboats. Just like Merlin said, two were missing. Hopefully, both Mac and Eggsy were in the same one, and they had just released the other as a diversion. That was the smart move, at least. There was blood on the deck, but not pools, only drips. That was good, that meant that they hadn't incurred any injuries there, and were just trailing some blood from their previous injuries. But Harry couldn't imagine that the boys had been able to grab any food or water to take with them. He could only hope that they would survive long enough out there to be rescued. The sun was scorching, and their captors probably hadn't given them any food or water in that small cell - unless the water from waterboarding counted, but Harry would say it did not. But this was Eggsy, he'd be fine. He had to be.

"Harry?" came Merlin's voice over comms. "It's just me here."

"What is it?" he asked, monotone. He couldn't hide his disappointment at not finding Eggsy there, especially from Merlin. They'd been practically brothers for far too long.

"We're going to find him, both of them," Merlin said. "Eggsy is strong, he'll make it just fine, and if Mac is anything like his team, so will he. You know that," he said.

Harry sighed, leaning over the railing of the ship, looking out to sea, where somewhere, two young men - far too young - were fighting for their lives. "Yes, Merlin, I know. But time is not on our side, and the ocean is vast. There's no telling how long they've been out there already," he said. He couldn't afford to think like that, but at the same time, he couldn't help it. As it was, he knew he was showing remarkable restraint. Dalton was much more free with his emotions, and at times, Harry envied that. The boy who was practically his child was missing, and Dalton's fury and grief were laid bare for all to see, completely unrestrained and free. Harry was in the same situation, but all he could do was stare mournfully out to sea. He didn't know how else to express what he felt. People were all different, and showed emotions differently, but Harry's method of bottling things up was bound to blow up in his face eventually. Dalton clearly didn't have that problem, but maybe the man was on to something. There were a few men who had survived, and they may at least be able to tell him something about the condition that they might find the boys in. "But I know they'll fight to the end, and I would never let him face the end alone."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I adore the first half of this. I'm not too fond of the second. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it regardless. Please leave a review!!!

They made it. They had actually made it. It was insane. By all rights, both Eggsy and Mac should've been dead. But they made it, and they were alive, albeit barely.

"I cannot believe that actually worked," Eggsy said around a small laugh. It probably sounded a little hysterical, but Eggsy thought that was fair. "We should be dead, bruv, you know that?"

Mac nodded. "I'll admit, I wasn't too confident in that plan," he replied. And he was totally right. Eggsy hadn't thought that loudly complaining that they both needed to piss would convince the guards to briefly untie them, but it had. He definitely hadn't thought that he and Mac would then have been capable of stealing their guns and shooting them - well, Eggsy shooting them, but Mac did carry the loaded handgun - and then sharing half their weight with each other hobble towards the lifeboats, shooting everyone in their path. Not for the first time, Eggsy was glad that he was such a good shot. Technically, it had been a better plan than their first, but that was only because they knew what they were dealing with. They knew they were on a boat and they knew they were going to the lifeboats. Still, miraculously, it had worked, and releasing the second lifeboat as a decoy had worked too. They'd heard the sounds of it getting shot up while they made it away safely. Now, they were floating somewhere in the Indian Ocean - Mac had assured him that because of the water temperature and the wind and the fish and some other nonsense that it had to be the Indian and not the Pacific - with possibly no rescue in sight. It wasn't necessarily any better of a situation than their old one, but it least was of their own choosing. That's what Eggsy held onto.

"You're ace, bruv, I swear," Eggsy said, shaking his head with a fond smile. He just couldn't stop thinking about how crazy it was. Seriously, if he stopped thinking about that, then he would only think of the overwhelming pain he was in, and he just couldn't handle that, so he had to force himself to think of the positives. But after another minute, he couldn't help but address the elephant in the room. "Do you think someone is ever gonna find us?"

"Well this lifeboat is top of the line, so unless a massive storm overturns it, and it's the wrong time of the year for that, our bodies should remain intact, that is, of course, until they decompose, which is obviously not going to take very long in the open sun and humid air-"

"That is rank, bruv. I meant alive, geez," Eggsy interrupted, disgusted. He absolutely did not want to hear about how his body was going to decompose.

Mac let out a small laugh, and shook his head, yet there was still a smile on his face. "Honestly, the odds are against us, but that's kind of how I live my life." He shrugged. "So, I wouldn't be surprised either way. We've done all we can. There's nothing we can do now. It's all up to someone finding us, or the currents somehow bringing us to the coast of Africa, since that's probably what we're closest to, or maybe Yemen or Oman. Now all we can do is wonder what'll kill us faster, dehydration or infection." He glanced pointedly down at the stab wound on his shoulder, and scrunched up his nose. Eggsy couldn't smell anything from his position on the opposite end of the small boat, but he figured that Mac knew what an infection smelled like. He did as well, but he didn't care to lift up his leg and check. It already hurt enough as it was, and lifting it to check if it stunk to high heaven would only make it worse. If that leg infection was how he was destined to die, then so be it. At least the burns from the cattle prod weren't bothering him quite as much anymore. His shattered wrist still throbbed, but there hadn't been a med kit on the boat, so there was nothing they could do.

Eggsy glanced over at his friend. Mac looked about the same. His knee was very swollen, and his breaths rattled. He was definitely developing pneumonia from the waterboarding. But from the looks of his stab wound, infection would kill him before pneumonia did. Eggsy's leg wasn't as bad as Mac's shoulder, infection wise, but that would still get him eventually, though not before Mac. He swallowed, looking away from his friend. He was going to watch Mac die. Eggsy might die himself if the infection in his leg spread rapidly, but he would definitely survive long enough to watch Mac die of his own infection. Dehydration would probably get Eggsy before the infection did. Realistically, if they weren't found within twenty-four hours, neither one of them were going to make it, and there wasn't a single thing either one of them could do about it. That was the worst part. All they could do was wait.

And wait they did. As the hours passed by, Eggsy and Mac talked less and less, their energy waning. They were far too weak to try to catch fish for food, or do anything other than lay there, baking in the sun. They were both sweating profusely, from a combination of the intense heat and the fevers they were both developing because of the infections. The fact that death would come at their own terms was perhaps their only solace. They had chosen this. Their miraculous escape had taken absolutely everything out of them, and now, they had nothing left to give. Eggsy tried to stay awake, more for Mac's sake than his own. Mac was worse off, and based on the position of the sun, Eggsy guessed that his friend would be dead by nightfall. It would've been easier to just fall asleep and drift off into the blissful nothingness of unconsciousness, and just face death when it came for him, but he couldn't do that to Mac. The blond would die first, and Eggsy would not let him be alone if he could help it. Eggsy was scared, and he knew that Mac was scared too. If it were Eggsy that would fade away first, he would want someone there to comfort him in his final moments, so he would do the same.

"Hey, man," Eggsy muttered, nudging Mac's good leg with his own. "You gotta stay awake, alright?" he said. Mac blinked awake, and nodded. "'Cause Jack is comin', right, and you gotta be awake for him."

Slowly, Mac lifted his gaze up to meet Eggsy's. "I wish Jack were here," he whispered. There was such pain in his eyes, and Eggsy knew it wasn't all because of his physical injuries.

"I know," Eggsy replied, getting choked up too. "I know you do, bruv, so you just hafta hold on, 'cause you said he'd never leave you, so that means he's comin' right? Jack and Harry are both comin'," he said. Eggsy looked away and quickly blinked away the tears that were beginning to form. Maybe they were coming, and maybe they weren't, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't make it in time.

Mac looked away, and Eggsy knew he was doing the same thing. After everything, this was how it was going to end. After V-Day and the Golden Circle and everything else that Eggsy had been through, this was how he was going to die. And Mac, a spy as accomplished as Eggsy, as it seemed, would die here too. The thought was almost humorous. They'd both survived so much throughout their lives, and this was how it would end. They'd both dealt with the death of a parent at a young age, an abusive father, gotten a new and dangerous world opened up to them by a new father figure, and saved the world countless times. After all of that, this was the end. Despite everything, Eggsy had lived a good life, but still, if only he could see his friends, no, his family, one more time. Just make Roxy laugh one more time. Just make Merlin rolls his eyes in fond exasperation one more time. Just hug his mother and baby sister one more time. Just hear Harry tell him that he was proud of him one more time. He would give anything for one more time.

A humming noise tried and failed to steal his attention. He glanced over at Mac, but he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to stay awake. He was just so tired. Mac's eyes were slipping closed as well. Eggsy could see a single tear slipping down his fever stricken face.

"I'm sorry, Mac," Eggsy choked out, but it was too late. Mac was gone, asleep, unconscious, or dead, it didn't matter. He would be dead soon enough. They both would be.

The humming noise was getting louder, but Eggsy couldn't bring himself to care. It was over. Nothing mattered. As he drifted away into the blissful, painless darkness, he whispered another apology, this time to his fellow Kingsman.

The darkness took over, and despite his grief and fear, Eggsy welcomed it.

...

Roxy had insisted that she get to be on one of those choppers out looking for Eggsy and Mac. Jack could fly a chopper, so he had taken her and Riley with him. It was best for them to be at least a little split up, so that way, it was more likely that the chopper that found them would be carrying someone that both Eggsy and Mac knew. It would be easier for them to have caregivers that they recognized. Roxy only hoped that it would be the chopper that she was on that would find them. Maybe it was selfish, since Harry and Merlin and even Percival were just as worried as she was, but she just needed Eggsy back. Merlin and Harry were on another chopper with Bozer, while Leanna and Percival stayed back to head up basecamp. She knew it was hard on the two of them to wait, but they needed people back home, and it would be harder on anyone else to stay behind.

"I'm picking up something," Riley said as she tapped away at her laptop. The woman was as much as tech genius as Merlin, and that was something that Roxy was incredibly thankful for. "Here, fly over to these coordinates," she said, pushing her laptop into Jack's view so he could see where they were supposed to be flying. "Satellites have picked something up over there, it could be them."

"If it's not them, I'm gonna destroy whatever it is," Jack muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Roxy to be able to hear over the sound of the chopper. It was a sentiment that Roxy fully supported.

She tapped her fingers nervously on her thigh as they flew closer and closer to the coordinates. Heights still made her nervous, and she knew that if they did indeed find their boys, then she and Riley would have to climb down to get them while Jack kept the bird in the air. It wasn't something she was looking forward to doing, but for Eggsy, she would do anything.

"That looks an awful lot like a lifeboat to me," Jack said a few minutes later. Roxy leaned over Riley's shoulder to get a better look. It did look like a lifeboat. It had to be them, it just had to be.

"I'm getting heat signatures," Riley said excitedly.

"That has to be them, there's no one else it could be," Roxy insisted. She didn't know what she would do if she were wrong.

"You girls get ready, I'll get us into position," Jack said. "Hold on, Mac, I'm almost there, kid."

Roxy and Riley got their gear ready to get down and bring the boys up one by one. They weren't quite a medevac, but they did just barely have the proper equipment to get them safely into the chopper.

"That's them, oh my gosh, that's them," Jack rushed out. "Get them up here, now!" he shouted. Jack kept muttering, or maybe praying, hoping for them to be okay. He was coming unraveled, and Roxy didn't know what to do other than to just get down there and hope that Jack would be okay to get them to the nearest hospital without having a panic attack. Jack wouldn't be able to be right there with his kid, he had to fly. Roxy and Riley were the ones that would be holding the boys until they got medical attention. She just hoped that Jack would be able to manage.

Riley opened the door hooked the board to the cables, then lowered it down to the lifeboat. Roxy watched it get lowered further, and further, and further, and felt her heartbeat rise with every meter the board was lowered. They were really high up. Seeing Eggsy down there helped, knowing that she was about to save her best friend, but nothing could completely take away her initial panic at heights. She knew she been up higher many times, but anything more than a few meters was too much for her if she could help it. Roxy knew she was shaking a bit as she hooked herself up to the cables.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Riley said, resting her hand on Roxy's shoulder. "We're gonna get them back up here, and you're gonna be with me the whole time. You're gonna be okay." Riley smiled, and Roxy was very confused. She must have shown it in her face, because Riley continued. "Mac is scared of heights too. It's really bad. But at least I can spot it in other people now. Now come on, let's go get our boys back." She smiled again, then started lowering herself down.

Roxy could do this. She had to do it. With a deep breath, Roxy left the safety of the chopper and started lowering herself down. Getting Eggsy back was more important than her fear, and besides, it wasn't as if she could ask Jack to take her place. Someone needed to keep the chopper in the air, and she didn't know how.

"They're alive!" Riley shouted to her. "They're both still alive, but we need to get them out of here ASAP." Roxy got down to the lifeboat and went straight for Eggsy. He was a mess. His wrist swollen, and looked broken. There was blood surrounding a leg wound, and she could see a lot of burn marks through his tattered shirt. He was clearly fevered, and the intense heat wasn't helping.

"Oh, Eggsy," she said, resting a hand on the side of his face. "What have they done to you?"

"Mac is fading, we need to get him up first," Riley said. Reluctantly, Roxy pulled herself away from Eggsy and went to the other side of the small boat to help Riley attach Mac to the board. He was even worse than Eggsy. Each small breath rattled, and there was a wound in his shoulder that was clearly infected. He had a few burn marks as well, and his knee was swollen.

Roxy could see tears in Riley's eyes as they got him attached to the board. Even in his unconscious state, Mac made small noises of pain as they jostled him. But moments later, Riley was pulling the two of them back up and into the chopper. She would be right back down to help Roxy with Eggsy. She turned all of her attention to her best friend, who was lying much too still on the deck.

"Eggsy, it's me," she said, fighting back tears. She once again caressed his face. "It's Roxy, I'm here, so you can't give up, alright? Merlin's no fun with you gone, and Harry is just so boring. So please, hold on. Your mum and Daisy need you. I need you." She quieted once she knew Riley was on her way back down. Roxy quickly wiped away the one tear that slipped out, and turned to her new friend. "Is Mac okay? And how is Jack holding up?" she asked.

"It's so hard for him to not be able to hold onto Mac, so now he's just anxious to get them both to a hospital," Riley said. She pulled the now empty board over to Eggsy, and only a minute later, the three of them were back up in the chopper. "Let's go!" Riley shouted to Jack.

"You keep them alive, girls, are you hearin' me?" Jack said. Roxy could hear the tears he was desperately trying to hold back. But that seemed to be the theme for the day, so Roxy couldn't blame him.

"I'm not giving up on them," she replied. Roxy tried to keep her hands as busy as possible. She wrapped Eggsy's leg with the limited medical supplies that they did have, but the rest of his injuries weren't anything that they were equipped to handle. She didn't even know why she even bothered wrapping it. It wasn't bleeding anymore, and infection had already set in. There wasn't anything she could do for him but be there. So that was exactly what she did. Roxy sat there, Eggsy's head in her lap, and gently stroked her fingers through his hair. Riley was mimicking her position with Mac, and she was whispering something to his unconscious form, but Roxy couldn't make out what it was. It wasn't any of her business anyway. "They're going to be okay," she said. "They have to be, right?"

Riley looked up at her, eyes big and brown and full of fear. "I hope so," was all she said, with a slight shrug. No one could say for sure, they just had to get to a hospital as quickly as they could.

She could hear Jack radio in. "We've got 'em, they're alive, but barely. We're on our way to the closest hospital," he said. Roxy was surprised how steady his voice sounded, but then again, he was a highly trained government agent and former Delta sniper, so it made sense that he could put aside his emotions when he knew he had to. "Don't you give up on me, Mac!" he shouted, looking back over his shoulder at them. "You kids stay alive, you hear me?" The pain in his voice was back like it never left, and it broke Roxy's heart.

She took a deep breath. She had to stay strong. For Eggsy and for Mac too, she had to stay strong. It was all she could do.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize for the long delay. I went up north with my family last week, and I thought that I would have time to write and upload the next chapter before then, but then I ended up having no time at all. But, I GOT ENGAGED! While I was up north, where my now fiance lives, he took me on a beautiful hike to a gorgeous waterfall, and asked me to marry him. Obviously, I said yes. But never fear, I don't plan to stop writing any time soon. This story is drawing to a close, but I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!

It had been three days, and still, Jack hadn't moved from Mac's bedside aside from when he absolutely had to drag himself to the restroom. It had been three days, and Mac still hadn't woken up - neither had Eggsy. Harry was there too, sitting right next to him. Mac and Eggsy had been given the same room, and although there were only supposed to be two visitors at a time, neither Phoenix nor Kingsman were going to follow that rule. Jack and Harry would not be moved, but Riley and Roxy and Merlin and everyone else needed to come in and see their friends too. Most of the time, it was just Jack and Harry, since breaking the rules too much would result in them getting kicked out, and that just wasn't an option.

So there they sat, Jack and Harry, keeping silent watch over their kids. They were content to be silent. They'd both been separated from their charges for far too long to be in the mood for idle chatter. Their kids were alive, and that was all that mattered. The doctors had assured them that both Mac and Eggsy were going to be okay as long as their bodies responded positively to the treatment for their infections. It had been three days, and so far, the kids were on track for a complete recovery. Jack just wished they would wake up. They had been unconscious for far too long in his opinion.

"Throughout all my years of service to Kingsman, and to England before that, I've never found any part of the job to be more difficult than this," Harry said from behind him. They didn't look at each other, both still focused on their kids. "Never in my life has anything been more difficult than this," he continued.

"You just don't realize how important kids like them are gonna come to be to ya until it's too late," Jack replied with a fond smile and shake of his head. He still wasn't sure exactly when it was that Mac became his entire world, only that it happened somewhere in those sixty-four days between meeting an obnoxious know-it-all child who didn't belong there and signing up for another tour to protect this amazing kid who became the best thing that ever happened to him. He was sure it was a similar story for Harry and Eggsy.

"Yes, I suppose you are right, but I wouldn't change it, despite the pain that it causes," Harry said. It sounded like this was something that was very difficult for him to say, if the halting in his words was anything to go by.

"It's the helplessness, in times like this," Jack said, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at Harry. The man was gently holding Eggsy's hand - the one that was connected to the IV, since the other was casted. Eggsy also had a cast on his lower leg, since the bullet had lodged itself in the bone of his calf. Mac's entire leg was casted after the surgery to repair the damage to his knee, and his arm was in a sling while his shoulder was heavily bandaged. They were quite the pair. "There's nothing we can do but wait," he continued with a heavy sigh. A little voice in the back of his mind told him that caring about Mac so much was bad, because there was no one else, except for maybe Riley, who could reduce him to this, but that voice was quickly shut down by a much louder voice that screamed Mac's praises.

"And wait we shall," Harry muttered in agreement.

And wait they continued to do. For hours and hours, they fell back into silence, sitting with their kids, and listening to the incessant soft beeping of the hospital equipment assure them that the kids were in fact recovering.

Once night had fallen, Matty lightly tapped on the door, announcing her presence to the two men. "Jack, you should really get some real rest," she said, slowly walking towards the front bed, Mac was still lying unconscious. "He wouldn't want you to run yourself into the ground while he's recovering."

"Not gonna happen, Matty," Jack immediately responded, shaking his head. "He hasn't even woken up yet, I'm not leavin' him." He didn't even look up at Matty again, he just looked at his kid, who was still far too pale.

"I do apologize, Matilda, but I'm afraid that it would be easier to wrestle a grizzly bear than it would be to remove him from his partner's side," Harry added, turning to make eye contact with the director.

"Oh, trust me, I know," she replied. Jack could practically hear her glare at him. "But Mac would kill me if he knew I didn't even try to talk some sense into him." She sighed and shook her head. "We'll all be back in the morning."

"Goodnight, Matty," Jack said, still not looking up at her. But when she came into view, he finally glanced up at her. Matty leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Mac's temple before gently running her fingers through his blond hair.

"Get better, Blondie," she muttered with a smile, then turned and left.

Jack and Harry were undisturbed for the next several hours, both dozing off every now and then, but neither one wanted to leave the kids long enough to go get coffee. They just sat there in those uncomfortable plastic hospital chairs, holding their kids' hands and praying that they really would be okay.

Small whimpers woke Jack from his light sleep. He didn't have to look around in the darkness to know that those sounds were coming from Mac. He knew the sounds of his kid's pain better than he knew the lyrics to his favorite Metallica songs at that point. As much as those sounds broke Jack's heart, they were also the first sounds that Jack heard from Mac in the past three days.

"Hey," he said softly, running his hands through the kid's hair. "Hey, kiddo, it's okay, I'm right here, you're just havin' a bad dream." And Jack knew pretty well what that bad dream would be about. Mac continued to whimper, and Jack's heart continued to break. "Come on, kiddo, wake up. Lemme see those baby blues of yours." He lightly squeezed Mac's hand, and his heart soared when Mac's eyes flew open with a light gasp. "Hey," he repeated. "Mac, buddy, you're okay, you're safe, I'm right here," he rambled, trying to stop the tears that were forming behind his eyes. Mac was finally awake. He should've call the doctors, but he just wanted to talk to his kid for a minute. "How you feelin', kiddo?" he asked.

"J-Jack?" Mac asked, his eyes quickly finding Jack's. Those baby blues were filling with tears as well. "You're here?"

"Yeah, kiddo, I'm here. I'm here and I'm not leavin' you, I'm never leavin' you," Jack affirmed, not bothering to stop the tears of his own this time.

"I'll give you two a moment," Harry muttered, slowly standing up and stretching his back. "I'll be right back, I promise," he whispered to a still unconscious Eggsy, then slowly walked out of the room. It was the first time he actually left the room after getting there.

"How do you feel?" Jack asked again, lightly rubbing up and down on Mac's arm in a calming motion. He would do anything to help ground the kid.

Mac looked away, and didn't answer, asking instead, "Eggsy?"

Jack ignored the diversion tactic for the moment, and replied, "he's right over there." He moved over just a bit and pointed at the other bed, giving Mac a direct line of sight to his friend. "He's gonna be okay, and so are you. You're both gonna be just fine. Now, again, how do you feel?"

Mac glanced back over at Jack for a split second before averting his gaze and looking down at his fidgeting fingers. "Hurts," he muttered, just barely loud enough for Jack to hear it.

"It's okay, kiddo, I know it hurts," Jack replied, trying to get Mac to catch his gaze again. "I'm gonna call the doctors in, and they're gonna get you some good meds, okay?" Jack knew how much Mac hated doctors and hospitals and especially pain meds, so he knew how badly Mac must have been feeling, since the kid just nodded as he played with a string coming off the blanket. Jack reached over and pressed the call button, then gently took Mac's hand back in his. "You're gonna be okay, kid, I promise. I'm just so glad you're okay." Tears were forming again, and Jack just couldn't believe how lucky they got. Mac's infection would heal, his bones would heal, and his pneumonia would pass. Mac was going to be okay. It was incredible. Jack would never stop being thankful for God smiling down upon them and saving his kid, since by all rights, Mac should've died. It was a miracle that he was going to be okay.

"You found us," Mac muttered, his eyes once again meeting Jack's.

"That was all Riley, so you can thank her in the morning." Jack stopped when the nurse came in. Mac was pliant, and let her run all the quick tests she needed to. She pumped his IV full of more pain meds, then smiled at the both of them.

"I'm impressed you woke up so soon, but I suggest you try to sleep more," she gently said. "Rest is the best thing for your recovery right now, and I'll be telling Mr. Unwin the same thing once he awakes."

"Eggsy," Mac muttered, his eyes already falling closed once again. "He likes to be called Eggsy." His eyes fell closed completely, and his breathing quickly evened out.

"He's gonna be okay," the nurse said again with a smile towards Jack. "Just keep Mr. MacGyver resting, and he'll be just fine."

"It's Mac, that's his name," Jack automatically replied. He sent a quick smile the nurse's way, then looked back at his kid, who was now resting peacefully. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the nurse leave, and breathed yet another sigh of relief. Jack ran his hands over his face and blinked widely. Things were going to be fine, because Mac was going to be fine. "You're gonna be okay, kiddo," he said, gently running his fingers through the kid's hair for the hundredth time. At this point, it was more for Jack's sake than it was for Mac's. After another few minutes, Jack pulled out his phone and texted Matty that Mac had woken up, and was now resting comfortably. She would tell everyone else. Jack rested his head on his crossed arms on Mac's bed, one hand still holding Mac's. Now, he could finally rest.

...

"He's really gonna be okay!" Riley shouted, lunging over to hug Bozer. Matty had just texted her the good news from Jack, and instructed her to tell everyone else. Matty was with Merlin, enjoying a late dinner together - Riley didn't want to put any more thought into it than that - and Percival was already in bed, since he was a notoriously early riser. It was Riley, Roxy, Bozer, and Leanna hanging out together in Riley's room. None of them could sleep, all being too worried about their agents. "He woke up for a few minutes, the nurse checked on him, and said he really is gonna be okay," she repeated with a massive smile on her face. She released Bozer from her grip, and turned to hug Roxy. "I'm sure Eggsy will wake up soon too." Roxy's smile was less jubilant, but she still nodded. Bozer and Leanna were tightly hugging as well.

"I'll text Percival," Roxy said. "He'll see it when he wakes up in a few hours." She pulled out her phone and turned away.

"See, I knew he was gonna be fine," Bozer said, waving his hand dismissively. "I was never really worried at all."

Leanna playfully punched his arm. "Yeah, right, you were just as much of a wreck as the rest of us," she said, rolling her eyes.

"But he's okay now, so it doesn't matter," Bozer said, still acting like he'd never been worried.

"I just can't believe he's really alright," Riley replied, almost breathlessly. They had gotten so lucky. There was no way that she was going to be able to sleep the rest of the night, or at all, until she saw her little brother for herself. "We should all get to bed, so we can see him bright and early tomorrow."

A chorus of agreeance followed her words, then a round of 'goodnights' and 'sleep wells'. Bozer and Leanna left Riley's room hand in hand, but Riley put her hand on Roxy's shoulder to stop her.

"I'm not sleeping tonight, I'm gonna sneak into the hospital and see that Mac is okay for myself. Wanna come?" she asked with a grin.

Roxy sent her a mischievous smile. "I wouldn't miss it." Riley smiled just as widely, then peeked out the door. The coast was clear, both Bozer and Leanna were in their own room.

"Let's go," she said. She and Roxy quickly made their way out of the hotel and hailed a cab, which took them to the hospital. On the ride, Riley could tell that Roxy wanted to ask her something, but kept stopping herself. "What is it?" she asked anyway.

"Okay, you know your boss better than I do, so I'm just wondering, do you think that she and Merlin are just getting a late dinner together because neither one of them had it earlier due to taking care of the rest of us, so it was just convenient for them to go together, or do you think they fancy each other?" she asked, looking at Riley with a slight cringe.

"Honestly, I don't even wanna think about it," Riley said around a laugh. "That's just weird, isn't it? It's like thinking of my mom going out with someone."

"I know, right?" Roxy fake shuddered.

The girls laughed as they got out of the cab and paid him, but quickly sobered up, becoming entirely the secret agents they were. Sneaking into a hospital past visiting hours would be a piece of cake compared to a lot of the things they'd done in the past. Their security was so bad that Riley could hack and loop their cameras from her phone, and Roxy was easily able to sweet talk their way past the secretary, playing up her London accent even more.

It all worked perfectly, and five minutes later, they were standing in front of their boys' room. Riley could see Jack asleep, his head resting right next to Mac's arm. She couldn't tell whether or not Harry was asleep from that angle. The two silently crept into the room, but even their secret agent skills had nothing on Jack and Harry, being far more trained and experienced. The two woke immediately, eyes alert to assess any possible threat.

"What are you girls doin' here?" Jack asked in a whisper, but there was no malice in his voice.

"Matty said that Mac woke up, and would be okay, but I just had to see for myself," Riley quickly responded. She walked up to Mac, and brushed the blond hair off his forehead with a fond smile. He was breathing easy, and didn't look to be in pain anymore.

"Like I said, honey, he's fine," Jack replied with a smile.

Riley saw Roxy give a small smile Mac's way, then look forlornly over at Eggsy. She put her arm around her new friend's shoulders, and squeezed lightly.

"He's gonna be okay too," she insisted. They weren't about to lose either one of them.

"If he's not, I'll kill him myself," Roxy muttered, walking away and over to Eggsy and Harry. "He will be fine, right?" she asked the man.

"My dear girl, look at who we're talking about," Harry fondly replied. "It's Eggsy, he'll be just fine."

Deciding to completely screw the hospital rules, the girls got comfortable. If the fathers weren't leaving, then neither were the sisters.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, this month has been crazy. I go back to college on Friday, so hopefully once I'm moved back in I can get back to a more regular schedule. This fic is drawing to a close. I think I'll write the epilogue and that'll be it. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

He fought against the darkness, he couldn't afford to fall back asleep. He had to stay awake, because he couldn't leave Mac to die alone. Eggsy just couldn't let that happen, and he'd already been resting his eyes for far too long. But why was it so hard to open them? And what was that beeping sound?

Eggsy fought as hard as he could, but he was rather comfortable. Maybe it was due to the extreme exhaustion, and the fact that he was more than likely dying himself, but the boat felt much more comfortable than it had before. It felt soft, and he wasn't in much pain anymore. There was something covering both of his hands. Whatever was over his broken hand was soft, but firm and unyielding, and the thing on his other hand was gentle, stroking it up and down in a motion that was so calming that Eggsy almost let himself fall back into nothingness. What was going on?

He had to check on Mac, he couldn't let him die alone. Slowly, as if he were lifting fifty pound weights, Eggsy finally managed to open his eyes, just a little bit. They were open to slits, but that was enough for him to see that he was no longer on that tiny boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Was he in a hospital? Had they actually been saved?

Eggsy forced his eyes open the rest of the way, and sat up as quickly as he could. He startled whoever was at his bedside, but he didn't care.

"Mac?" he croaked out. His friend had to be okay. There was no way that they went through all of that, only for Mac to die.

"He's fine," came a familiar voice to his left, but Eggsy was focused on the form in the bed beside his. He breathed out a sigh of relief. Although it was dark, he could tell that it was Mac, and he appeared to be resting soundly. There was a middle aged man sitting next to Mac, who looked to be asleep as well, but he was holding Mac's hand. That had to be Jack. A young woman around his age sat with Mac too, also asleep. She was beautiful. "How are you feeling?" that familiar voice asked, taking his attention away from the Americans.

"Fine, actually," he said, and it was the truth. He must have been on some incredible pain killers.

"You weren't quite as badly injured as your friend, and you've slept longer than expected, so I'm glad that you're feeling well, all things considered." Eggsy finally turned and looked at Harry. It was Harry. Harry was there. Harry was right there, sitting next to him, and Roxy too. They were both there. Eggsy really was safe, he was alive, and so was Mac, they were both okay, and their families were there and they were going to be okay.

He knew tears were beginning to fill his eyes, but he was just so happy. "You're here," he said, looking at Harry and Roxy. "You're both here."

"Of course we're here," Roxy said, gently squeezing Eggsy's hand. So that had been the gentle thing over it. Eggsy glanced at his other hand, which was covered by a cast. That made sense. He had a casted leg as well. "You're not getting rid of us that easily," she said with a smile, but she couldn't hide the tears that Eggsy saw. At least all of their tears were happy ones.

"You should get more rest, my boy," Harry gently said, giving Eggsy a fond smile. "I promise, we'll all still be here when you wake up."

Eggsy didn't really want to sleep more, since evidently he had been sleeping for a long time, but he knew that rest was one of the best ways to heal - since he did have a tendency to get hurt a lot on the job, despite his incredible record for completing ops, so he just figured they went hand in hand, and he would gladly get hurt if that meant the op was successful. Besides, it wasn't as if there was much else for him to do in a hospital while he was laid up and it was sometime in the night.

"You'll stay?" Eggsy asked, as if he didn't hear what Harry had just told him. He just needed to be sure, since there was always the chance that this was all some dream.

"Of course," Harry said, resting a hand on his shoulder and lightly squeezing. "We're not leaving you, ever."

Those words continued to ring in Eggsy's mind as he fell asleep, and he only hoped that they would prove to be true.

...

Waking a second time proved to be much easier than the first time. His eyelids no longer felt like they were being weighed down with bricks, and it wasn't much of a fight at all to come into complete consciousness.

"Good morning, Eggsy," came Harry's voice from the left. He looked up and saw the man smiling gently down on him, with Roxy flashing a gigantic grin as well.

"See, I told you he was fine." That was a new voice, one with some kind of an American accent - southern, maybe? - so it had to be Jack. Eggsy let his head flop over to the other side, and saw that Mac was awake as well, and staring at him in relief. "He woke up in the night, and he was fine then, and he's awake and fine now," Jack insisted.

"Hey, bruv," Eggsy muttered, fighting back a yawn. He didn't feel quite as well as he did when he had woken up earlier, but leaps and bounds better than anything in the past few days. "I'm fine, all thanks to you," he said with a smile. He never would've made it out of there without Mac. The bloke was an absolute genius.

"You're the one who got us out of there," Mac muttered in reply, but at least he didn't break eye contact. Over the time they'd spent together, Eggsy learned that Mac broke eye contact whenever he felt guilt, so it was good that he wasn't doing that now, since he didn't have anything to be guilty for.

"Not without your brains, bruv. I'm smart but I ain't got nothin' on you," he replied with a smile.

"Let's call it a team effort, and get onto more important things," Jack interjected, holding up his hands placatingly. The man gave a fond sigh and a shake of his head, then turned to Eggsy. "I'm Jack Dalton, you probably already know all about me, and this here," he paused, gesturing towards the beautiful young woman who had been asleep the night before, but was now tapping away at a laptop, "is Riley Davis, part of the Phoenix Foundation and our little family here."

Riley smiled at him, but her focus seemed to remain on Mac. "Nice to finally meet you," Eggsy said with a slight smile as he thought about all of the outlandish stories that Mac had told him about this man, wondering if any of them could be true. "You're quite the western hero, or so I've heard." He looked back at Mac and smirked when the other man rolled his eyes.

"Well, I don't know about all that," Jack said with a pointed glance towards Mac. "My job is just to protect both this scrawny kid and the best interests of the good ol' US of A."

"So humble, Jack," Riley added, taking a quick glance at the other occupants of the room before turning her attention once more to her wounded friend, almost as if she couldn't believe that he was really okay, which, really, was understandable, considering all that they'd been through in the past few days.

It looked like Jack was about to respond, but the man stopped in his tracks when a doctor walked through the door.

"It's good to see you both awake and talking," the man said. "Although I'm not sure what's so unclear about the policy on the limit of the number of visitors." He looked pointedly around the room at the excess number of people, but then shook his head with a fond smile on his face. "You'll both soon be moved to a regular room, out of the ICU, where you'll stay for a few more days before your release." Once everyone around the room had nodded, but remained quiet, the doctor turned and left.

"They'll need some room to work to move you, so I will let everyone else know of your progress," Harry said as he stood.

"Wait," Eggsy quickly interjected, reaching out with his good hand and latching it onto Harry's wrist, but he closed his mouth before he could say anything else. How could he say 'please don't leave' without sounding weak? He just looked up at Harry, pleading with his eyes, hoping the man would get the message, and stay, even if Eggsy didn't deserve that comfort. He was the one who'd blown the mission after all. It was his own fault, and Harry definitely didn't need to stay and look after him like a father would his son, because Harry wasn't his father, no matter how much Eggsy wished he was.

Harry looked between Eggsy's firm grip on his arm, and Roxy sitting on the side of the bed, a bit of pleading in his own eyes.

"It's alright, Eggsy," she said calmly. "Riley and I will go and find out what room you'll be moved to, and we'll let everyone else know too." She smiled that gentle smile of hers, then carefully slid off the bed and walked towards Riley, who had put her laptop away and was now brushing the hair off Mac's face.

"I'll be back later," Riley said softly. If Mac replied to her, Eggsy couldn't hear it. Riley and Jack made eye contact, and nodded. Clearly there was both a history there and a message transferred that Eggsy was not privy to, but he couldn't bring himself to care all that much. They were taking care of Mac, and that was all that mattered.

Riley and Roxy smiled at each other, then left the room.

"Now, how are you boys feeling?" Harry asked. "And remember, Jack and I are both highly trained agents who can tell when someone isn't being honest, so please, forget stoicism, and just tell us the truth."

Stifling a laugh, Eggsy replied, "I'll be alright, I promise. The pain meds have worn off a bit, but it's not bad." He shrugged a bit, then glanced over at Mac, who was purposely not making eye contact with Jack.

"You need more meds, bud?" Jack asked, ducking his head to try to catch Mac's eye. "I think I already know the answer."

"You know I hate taking stuff," Mac muttered. He still wasn't meeting anyone's eye.

"But they make you feel so good," Eggsy said with a smile, rolling his head on the pillow to face Mac more directly.

"Oh, Eggsy," Harry softly scolded, resting a hand on his forehead and shaking his head slightly in fond annoyance.

"I'm just gonna let the docs know that you're hurtin', and they'll give you whatever you need," Jack continued as if no one had said anything. He kept a hand rested on Mac's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. Eggsy looked away. That felt like too much of a private exchange that he shouldn't intrude upon.

Eggsy turned his attention back to Harry, who was now sitting in the uncomfortable plastic chair next to him, with a strange look on his face. He was staring at Eggsy with what looked like a mixture of elation and grief.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

Harry quickly shook his head and sat up straighter. "Nothing at all," he said, then gave a light sigh. "I'm just glad you're safe, but so sorry that I wasn't there earlier." He shook his head again, this time in dejection, and looked down.

"None of this is your fault," Eggsy assured him. "It was all a big mess, and it didn't have anything to do with you, you know that, right?" It was paramount that Harry knew that it wasn't his fault. Eggsy knew that Harry was prone to blaming himself whenever something happened to Eggsy, but he tried all he could to convince him to let it go.

"I'm just glad you're alright," Harry repeated with a sad smile. "We'll be back in London soon enough anyway-" he broke off at a knock on the door. The doctor stepped through with a team of nurses, ready to transport Mac and Eggsy to a regular room.

Fifteen minutes later, they were settled into a new room, where thankfully, more visitors were allowed. Percival, Merlin, Roxy, Riley, and the rest of what Jack said was the Phoenix family came into the room, all with smiles on their faces. Eggsy glanced over at Mac, feeling a bit overwhelmed with so many people there. Mac looked like he was feeling about the same. But once again, Jack took up his post right next to Mac, resting a comforting hand on the blond's shoulder, immediately calming him. Eggsy could see the slight change in his expression, then felt it himself when Harry did the exact same thing.

Their families were there, taking care of them. They were both okay, and their families would make sure that they would stay that way. Looking at all the smiling faces around him, Eggsy smiled himself. There was so much love to go around, and just this once, Eggsy would bask in it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the conclusion of Something In The Silence. I've had a great time writing this, and I hope you guys all had a great time reading it. I'll probably end up writing more for Kingsman, and I can confirm that I'll be writing more for MacGyver. Pretty soon I'll be starting my season three rewrite, which will pick up with 3x15 as if the end of 3x14 never happened. I'll also be starting an AU for MacGyver that'll basically be like Stranger Things meets The Hardy Boys, but MacGyver. Idk when you can expect that, but that's the next regular multichapter fic for MacGyver that I'll be writing. I'm still working on my Aladdin fic, and because I have no self control, I'm starting a multichapter fic for Blue Bloods, which will have plenty of Jamie whump and protective Danny and Reagan family feels. Anyway, that's that. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

ONE MONTH LATER

"I've taken apart and reconstructed the toaster five times. It's impossible to make it run any more efficiently that I have it now."

"I've watched all the Roger Moore Bond films, even Octopussy, I think that means I'm more bored than you."

"No, there's no one on the planet more bored than me."

"At least you can still use both your hands, I've only got the one!"

Mac sighed. Eggsy was right. At least Mac had both of his hands available to use. He would be even more bored without them.

"Okay, you got me there," he admitted. Mac adjusted himself slightly on the couch where his leg was resting. He was still no weight bearing, and was quite jealous that Eggsy would soon be allowed to move to a walking boot. Although he knew why, and medically it made sense, Mac still hated it. Sitting on the couch, doing nothing, having Jack and Bozer and everyone else fawning over him, was really starting to take a toll on him. "How's everyone else holding up? Harry and Roxy still hanging around?"

"Yeah, they won't give me a lick o' space, bruv," Eggsy replied. Even over the phone, Mac knew that Eggsy was rolling his eyes. "I'm itchin' to get back to work, and Harry won't even let me get off the couch without help. He and Rox make sure that I am never alone. My mum and Daisy stayed with me for like three weeks, which is three weeks too long. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but my mum has a hard enough time taking care of little Daise by herself, she doesn't need to be taking care of me too." Eggsy sighed over the phone. "At least Daisy was happy though. She loves Roxy and Harry and Merlin so much. I swear, Harry is a dad to her too. But anyways, enough about me, I'll be up and around soon enough. You still have two more weeks of not even weight bearing, right? Then how much physical therapy after that?"

"Yeah, how much is the question," Mac answered, rolling his eyes. "I feel like at this rate I'm never gonna get back to work. At least Jack will leave me alone for a whole five minutes. He's taking a shower right now, and Bozer and Riley are both at work. Jack is refusing to go back until I go back." Which was understandable. Mac had almost died, so of course Jack was feeling a bit more protective than normal.

Eggsy laughed. "Harry's been complainin' that he has to work. He kind of runs Kingsman, so he can't just stay gone. Roxy won't go back though. She's been stayin' with me, and now she's thinkin' about talkin' to Harry about agents having actual partners, instead of just sometimes working ops with other agents and more often goin' it alone. I don't know what that has to do with what happened, since Harry was there, but I think that's just Rox's way of saying she doesn't want me to be alone," he finished with a chuckle. "Still, I'm glad she cares so much."

That was something that the two of them did have in common in their recoveries. They both had friends who were really family, that were with them every step of the way, going so far as to not want to even leave them alone.

"I'm glad she does too," Mac replied. "She and Riley have been texting nonstop, sending each other videos and memes and dog pictures, I don't know," he laughed. "They hit it off really well. I think Riley's actually looking at flights to go visit." The two of them became very good friends over the course of the last month, becoming the sisters that neither one of them ever had.

"That would be great!" Eggsy said. "I'm not supposed to say anything, but Harry has been wanting to talk to one of your people about running more joint ops, and working investigations together. If Riley visits, he can just talk to her directly."

Mac lifted an eyebrow, even though he knew that Eggsy couldn't see him. "Are you sure that you're not just excited to see Riley again because you're into her? I saw the way you kept looking at her while you were here." Mac fought to keep the smile off his face, because Riley was a sister to him, and brothers weren't supposed to smile when their sisters had potential suitors, but the whole thing was kind of amusing, and Mac just couldn't help but crack a grin.

"Nah, bruv, I promise I don't fancy her," Eggsy quickly replied. "I mean, even a blind man could see that Riley is well fit, but I'm not into her like that, I promise. I sort of might possibly fancy someone else, but I'm not sure."

"Well, anyone would be lucky to have you," Mac said with a shrug. Eggsy was a good man, and Mac was sure that he would find the right person someday.

"Thanks, bruv. Hey, I think Harry just got back," Eggsy said with a sigh. "I already know that he's gonna rattle off a bunch o' questions about how I'm feelin' and all that, so I'll call again later."

"Alright, sounds good. Just make sure you tell him the truth when he asks. He's just like Jack, he always knows when you're lying, so there's really no point in doing it." Of course, that wouldn't stop Mac from insisting to Jack that he was fine, but he wasn't about to tell Eggsy that.

Eggsy laughed. "Sure thing. Talk to you later," he said.

"Bye," Mac replied with a smile, then hung up.

"If you know there's no point in lyin' to me, why do you still do it?"

Mac jumped at the voice. How had Jack gotten out of the shower and into the living room without Mac noticing?

"How long have you been there?" he asked, dodging the question. Jack moved to sit on the end of the couch, next to Mac's still casted leg.

"Long enough to know that you know that tellin' me you're fine when you're not is pointless, from your own admission," he said, looking at Mac incredulously. Mac averted his gaze and looked at some speck on the floor.

"I plead the fifth," he muttered. "But I promise, right now I really do feel fine." Jack narrowed his gaze at him. "I pinky promise I feel fine, okay?" Mac said, slightly exasperated, as he held out his pinky.

Jack chuckled, but wrapped his own pinky around Mac's. "Sure thing, kiddo." Jack's expression quickly sobered, and he moved from holding Mac's pinky to holding his whole hand, albeit gently. "But what you said isn't the only thing that makes me and Harry similar."

Usually, Mac wouldn't hesitate to make a joke about that, thinking that Jack thought he was some kind of James Bond, but based on Jack's expression, that wasn't the right move. Jack was staring at him way too seriously for something like that. Was something wrong?

"What?" Mac quietly asked, brows furrowing.

Jack gave him a gentle smile before answering. "Harry and I both would do anything for our kids. We'd die for you boys." Mac blushed and quickly averted his gaze. "I don't mean to be gettin' all mushy, but it's true. Eggsy is always gonna have Harry, just like you're always gonna have me, no matter what."

"You know that goes both ways, right?" Mac asked, looking back up at Jack. "Eggsy and I would die for you and Harry too."

"Well, let's just hope it never comes to something like that." Jack gave a sad smile once more, and squeezed Mac's hand before releasing it. He stood up and gave a jubilant smile. "What do you want for lunch? I don't know about you, but I'm cravin' some KFC if you can handle bein' on your own for fifteen minutes," he said, slowly backstepping into the kitchen.

"Yes, Jack, I'm sure I'll be okay," he said. "Get me some popcorn chicken, wedge fries, and a biscuit."

"Duh," Jack quickly replied as he grabbed his keys. "I know your order." He smiled at Mac and fondly shook his head, then walked out the door.

Once Jack was out of sight, Mac shook his own head in fond exasperation. Jack was right, and Mac and Eggsy couldn't be luckier. Their families were everything to them, and their families were never going to leave them. Mac and Eggsy were more similar than anyone would think, and Mac was okay with that.


End file.
